Final Rescue - The Crossover Within
by Kyona Aki Joey-Wan Leonhart
Summary: The whole story is now here! Just a crossover with Thunderbirds and 'Final Fantasy : The Spirits Within'. My first fic to go up here - be gentle but please R & R. Thanks. F.A.B. Aki
1. Part 1 - The dream within

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"Final Rescue: The Crossover Within"

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Note: The events in this fic are totally independent to the timeline in my other fics, mainly because this is a one-off. The ages of the brothers are still the same as my fics: John being the eldest, followed by Scott, Virgil, Gordon and Alan.

The original Final Fantasy story belongs to Hironobu Sakaguchi and Square Pictures, not me. Most of the characters used instead are based on those created by Gerry Anderson. Additional characters from this story are just a figment of my wild imagination. Please do not copy or use without my permission.

My thanks go to my Final Fantasy and Thunderbirds posses (you all know who you are), as well as Natalie (you're a star!) and my best mate Hemma (For embarrassing me whilst watching FF:TSW in the cinema!).

If you have any queries or feedback, don't hesitate to contact me at _jojo_tracy@hotmail.com__ or __aki_leonhart@hotmail.com_

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Alternatinvely, check out my sites at _http://communities.msn.co.uk/Thunderbir1sHangar __(for Thunderbirds) or_

_http://communities.msn.co.uk/RPDAllSTARS__ (for Resident Evil and Final Fantasy)_

Anyway, that's my little bit done now. See ya!

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Prologue

_Something wasn't right._

The landscape was like nothing he'd ever seen before in his life. Yet, he was standing in the middle of it.

The hot sun bore down on him and he took a step backwards, accidentally stepping on something with a wet crack. _He lifted his boot to see the squashed remains of some obscure shelled animal, before realizing that he was actually standing on a lake of some sort._

'Impossible…' he thought to himself.

Then, he became aware of a faint rumbling sound coming over the horizon.

Something was coming.

Something big.

The dusty ground swirled around him in a light breeze that was increasing with the rumbling sound.

What was approaching?

He ran forwards a few steps and looked closer at the distant horizon, which seemed to be getting brighter and brighter until he could just make out the shadows that dotted the horizon.

He wanted to know what was coming.

He had_ to know._

****

Chapter One

The dream always felt the same.

John Tracy jerked awake, gasping for breath. He pushed a hand through his blond, crew cut hair and reached for the holographic control panel next to the lounge chair he'd been sleeping in. He looked at the options on the screen:

Dream File Save?

Yes?No?

John selected 'Yes' and released the harness that was holding him in his chair, floating up in the zero gravity and peering out of the viewing port, thinking. He knew the dream must mean something. But what?

"Atmosphere re-entry in t-minus fifteen seconds." the cool voice of his ship's autopilot announced, and John floated himself up to the control cabin. He strapped himself into the pilot's seat of his craft, the Black Boa, and prepared himself for re-entry, the fading memories of the dream still digging in his mind.

"Warning! This is restricted air space!" the computer informed.

"Like I really care." John muttered, overriding the restriction.

The Black Boa landed in the desolate and dead area that was once the thriving area of Pittsburgh, Pensylvania.

As John stepped out of his ship, he couldn't help but feel a pang of remorse: The area was cold and dark with no signs of human life except himself. The Phantoms lived here now, taking the spirit, or the soul, and life of any living organism that got in their way.

A skeleton was slumped in the seat of a rusted and broken car that John walked past, it's skull resting against the steering wheel.

'What's done is done, John Tracy,' John told himself inwardly, forcing himself not to dwell on the death that surrounded him. 'Just focus on the task at hand. Get the job done and get the heck out of here.'

John unhooked his flare gun, firing off a few rounds into the air and watching their bright white and yellow particles settle back on the ground.

No Phantoms.

John activated the wrist-mounted scanner on his left arm, trying to locate what he was looking for.

"Come on, baby," he muttered. "Where are you?"

He turned to his right and suddenly the scanner started bleeping faintly, sounding almost too loud in the silent streets.

"Gotcha." John smiled, walking in the direction the scanner had pinpointed, firing the flare gun again just as a precaution.

It was lucky that he did too.

The residual charges of the flare gun settled on three Phantoms lurking nearby that John had missed. And, as he realized with dismay, the three Phantoms were blocking the distance between himself and his ship.

"Not good." John whispered to himself, breaking into a run. His only chance was to pick up that life form he'd come for and get out of there. Somehow.

He fired another flare into the sky as he ran and took out his laser gun in case any Phantoms came too close.

"You're screwed, Tracy." John told himself as he turned around to see the mass of Phantoms heading for him. Another quick look at his wrist scanner and he saw that the life form he was looking for was inside the building in front of him. He had to find a way in there.

John spun around to find that the group of Phantoms had him surrounded and were still closing in on him. Looking around again, John saw that the way into the building had been cut off by a Phantom.

No escape.

Suddenly, an energy bolt vapourized one of the Phantoms.

Shocked, John spun around to see four heavily armoured soldiers opening fire on the group of Phantoms, taking the majority of them out almost with ease.

The three soldiers continued firing at the advancing Phantoms, whilst their Captain turned to John, his face covered completely in the metal-grey armour, his voice sounding amplified and metallic.

"This is a restricted area and your ship has been impounded. Do not move."

The Captain was a fraction shorter than John, his build unreadable from the heavy body armour that encased both himself and his fellow soldiers.

"What's _he_ doing here, Captain?" one of the soldiers asked, firing at a Phantom, and John could tell the soldier was female. But why did she speak like she knew him? Who was she?

"We can ask him later," replied the Captain in a curt-sounding voice. "Let's just get him out of here."

Printed on the grey shoulder-pads of the soldiers' armour, John noticed that the Captain's shoulder patches were a distinct red colour, were the words 'DEEP EYES' and John groaned inwardly.

The Deep Eyes Squadron was supposed to be the best of the best when it came to special tactics and rescue. They were also known to stick straight to their orders, meaning that they wouldn't give John the chance to grab the life-form before getting out of here.

Two Phantoms came out of the wall on the Captain's left.

"Behind you!" John shouted in warning, sprinting for the door of the building as the leader turned to fire at the Phantoms.

"Hey! Wait!" called the Captain, taking out the last of the two Phantoms.

John moved silently inside the building, firing a flare to check for Phantoms.

Nothing here.

He was inside a huge lobby with once-polished marble floors and a staircase leading up to the next two or three floors. One side of the building had caved in and John could see the night sky through the massive hole.

His wrist-mounted scanner was bleeping urgently now and he followed its directions until he was in front of a crumbling old water fountain, the water long dried up and gone. At his feet a small green plant had sprouted in a crack between the fountain and the marble floor. It was the only sign of life that John had seen since arriving in Pittsbrugh, except for the Deep Eyes Squadron.

John was in the process of carefully extracting the little plant when a gloved hand clapped firmly on his shoulder and yanked him around.

****

Chapter Two

"What the blazes do you think you're doing?" the Deep Eyes Captain sounded angry.

John jerked his shoulder away from the Captain's strong grasp. "This is important. I need to extract this plant."

"Plant?" echoed a second soldier, a man, the second smallest out of the Deep Eyes Squadron. "It looks more like a weed to me."

"Not even that." snorted the third soldier, slightly shorter than the Captain but a little taller than the second soldier.

"Oh be quiet, you two," said the female soldier, her voice sounding slightly annoyed. "Let's just get this thing and move out before transport decides to leave without us. It's a long way back to the Philadelphia Barrier."

"I've got it." John announced, lifting the protective-status pack containing the small plant and storing it in his lightweight backpack.

"About time," the Captian said almost impatiently, and John realized that the more he heard from the Captain, the more he disliked him. "Let's move out, people."

No sooner had he said that and seven Phantoms entered the building, two coming up out of the floor, one just missing John. It was a close call and he knew it: If a Phantom touched you, it would infest the body and eventually take over it completely. However, if a Phantom passed through a body, it would rob that person of their soul, killing them instantly.

The second soldier fired a flare shot into the room as the group retreated. The residual energy marked even more Phantoms in the lobby.

"Our company's got company!" the third soldier stated the obvious.

"We're almost surrounded," noted the second soldier, sounding almost bored. "Ain't that a bitch?"

"Alright, people. Head for higher ground," the Captain motioned to the ruined stairs, their only escape route at the moment. "Sergeant, take point."

The third soldier, the Sergeant, moved fast, signalling for John to follow close. He gave a quick inspection at the bottom of the stairs then said "Okay. One at a time, people."

John didn't even think that the old, debris-covered stairs could hold even one of the fully armoured soldiers, let alone all of them. However, with the Phantoms closing in on them, there wasn't really much choice.

"Tell transport to pick us up at the top." ordered the Captain, still fending off the advancing Phantoms.

"Yes, Sir!" replied the female soldier, making her way up the ruined staircase, staying close to the wall. She moved with suprising fluidity for a woman in heavy armour, making sure that she kept her footing. If any of them lost their balance or slipped on a layer of debris, they'd be sent tumbling down into the Phantoms below.

The Sergeant fired at the three Phantoms coming along the second floor as he and John reached the landing. The female soldier took out the last one as the second soldier made his way nimbly up the broken stairs. Above them, they could see the transport waiting.

"Come on, Captain!" called the Sergeant, covering for his superior as he ran for the ruined stairs.

John watched as four Phantoms drifted after the Captain, moving much faster than him on the debris-covered stairs.

The Sergeant and second soldier each took one out as the female soldier signalled for the transport to drop the lifting cables.

At the last moment, the Captain stopped and fired at the remaining two Phantoms, taking them both out. However, one of his shots also managed to take out a chunk of the floor above him and was battered down by rocks and stones.

For a heart-wrenching moment, John didn't think the Captain would get up, but then he was moving, scrambling up the layers of debris on the stairs, even as the rubble at the top started to slide. The slipping debris forced the Captain down again, and heading right back to the Phantoms below.

The female soldier moved immediately, snapping a safety hook and line around the sturdy banister and jumping down like a trained gymnast, grabbing the Captain's hand. With a grunt of effort, she yanked him back up and together they scrambled back up to the top of the stairs.

"You need to cut down on those apple pies, Captain," the female soldier said lightly. "You okay?"

"Yeah," replied the Captain. "Fine."

John was quite impressed by the teamwork and efficiency. The four of them must have been working together for quite a while. They were all extremely unnaturally calm under all kinds of pressure, reminding him of a team that he once used to be a part of.

"Grab on." the Sergeant told John, grabbing one of the four lifting cables, and John did as he was told, happy that he'd managed to obtain what he had come looking for.

"Any time now would be good." the second soldier said as the mass of Phantoms drifted up the broken stairs.

"Lift." ordered the Captain, and the Phantom tentacles barely missed all of them as the transport craft pulled them through the opening in the building and up into the dark winch bay.

Once onboard the transport ship, John blew out a breath and sat down heavily in one of the seats.

"You okay?" asked the Sergeant and John could hear the concern behind the metallic tone of the helmet's amplifier. He nodded.

"Yeah. Thanks." John replied, thinking that the Sergeant wasn't such a bad guy after all.

The Deep Eyes Squadron all took their places sitting in the seats opposite him, facing him. All apart from the Captain, who leant against the bulkhead with his arms folded and looking at him. After a pause of silence, the Captain spoke.

"Can you give me one good reason why I shouldn't arrest you?" the Captain didn't sound too pleased and John stiffened at his words.

"I'm John Tracy," John looked at the Captain, almost daring him to a challenge. "I have clearance to be here. If you don't like it, you can talk to Mr. Hackenbacker or Sir Hodge."

"Bullshit, John," the Captain snorted. "We both know that you had no authorization to be back there," he began pacing in front of John like a caged predator. "Do you realize that you've just risked the lives of my squad? And for a seedy plant!"

"Look, I don't want to talk about it," John said, thinking now that the Captain was a total bastard. "The fact of the matter id that it was _worth _the lives of you and your men."

There was an awkward silence in the cabin.

" 'You and your _men_'?" echoed the female soldier under her breath.

"I think it's the armoured uniform." teased the second soldier.

"I think you're and idiot." she shot back.

"Well, _I _know you're not a man." the Sergeant playfully chipped in.

"And you're an idiot too." she said heatedly.

The Captain ignored his squad and turned back to John.

"I don't care if you don't want to talk about it, John," the Captain said. "There isn't really anywhere you can go and hide this time."

"What did you say?" John's voice was low, his anger rising. Who were these people?

"You heard me, _citizen_." the Captain was pulling rank now.

"Of curse I did, _Captain_. And now I want to know who the blazes you guys are and how you think you know me like you're my brother or something." John said angrily.

The Captain stopped pacing and looked at John.

"I know you more well than you think, John," the Captain unclipped his helmet as he talked. "And I didn't even need to look in your files. And do you know why?"

"Surprise me." John glared at the Captain.

The Captain removed his helmet and stored it under his seat as he sat down opposite John, whose eyes were full of shock. The Captain had a smooth, authorative face with rough, floppy dark brown hair and sparkling light-blue eyes.

"Surprised?" asked the Captain, his voice more recognisable without the helmet's metallic edge, and John had no doubt about it: The arrogant bastard that sat facing him was none other than his own younger brother.

****

Chapter Three

"It's been a while, Johnny." said the Sergeant, removing his helmet to reveal the short, mid-brown hair and brown eyes of Virgil Tracy to a shocked John.

"Virg…!" gasped John.

"Hey, don't forget me, big bro." the second soldier's helmet was already off and John saw the ginger-brown hair, the light-brown eyes, and that joking grin.

"Gordon!"

"And as for the last of the Deep Eyes' … ahem, '_men_'…" Tin-Tin Kyrano placed her helmet under her seat and looked at John with a lop-sided grin as she ran a hand through her dark hair.

"Sorry about that, Tin-Tin." John laughed sheepishly.

"It's been like almost a year since we last saw you, Johnny. Where did you go? What happened to you?" asked Gordon.

"Long story, Gords." John replied wearily, not exactly wanting to tell his brothers what was going on. Not yet anyway.

"We've got time." Scott said in a curt voice.

"Maybe another day, Gords." John told Gordon, ignoring Scott.

"What? So you can run away again?" taunted Scott.

"Scott-"

"That's _Captain_ to you." Scott interrupted John.

"Alright, _Captain_," John tried to keep the anger out of his voice. "With all due respect, _Captain_, would you just shut up?"

Scott stood up, his light-blue eyes blazing, fists clenched. He was about to say something, perhaps a challenge, when the transport landed at the Hangar of Philadelphia Barrier, the base of Deep Eyes. It was also the same barrier were John's quarters and the main laboratory where he worked alongside International Rescue's former scientist, Mr. Hiram Hackenbacker, also known as 'Brains'.

"Welcome back, Captain." the lab technician and ex-World Aquanaut Security Patrol member, George Sheridan, also known as 'Phones', said to Scott as he and his team, now out of their armour and in their casual uniforms, entered the decontamination area through the hangar.

"Good to be back, Phones." Scott said.

John glanced around. All Barrier entrances had decontamination areas, and this one was no exception. Everything was a pure white and no colour was allowed in the room, making it easier to see any Phantoms that may have somehow passed through the specialized barrier shield in the first place.

Al glass-like partition divided the group from the technician, Phones, and the emergency medical center behind him. There was only a round platform on their side of the partition. It was a high-tech scanner for alien infestation by Phantoms. Everyone had to go through the scanner if they ever went beyond the Barrier.

"We're clean." Scott said. He hated getting scanned.

"I can vouch for that." John said, hoping that Phones would just let them pass. He couldn't afford to be scanned. But, unlike the others, he had a very good reason.

Phones smiled back as he adjusted some controls on the panel in front if him. "Let's just make sure of that though. From the record of your little adventure, you guys got pretty damned close to some Phantoms."

Behind John, the three other member of the Deep Eyes Squadron moaned.

"I hate getting scanned." Virgil said dismally.

"Yeah," agreed Gordon. "Apparently, these machines are suspected of causing sterility. I'd like to have a little Gordon Junior calling me 'Daddy' someday."

"Scary thought." Tin-Tin giggled.

John said nothing. He had to get out of being scanned. However, there was only one way out of this room, and it was through the shimmering force-screen on the other side of the scanner.

"C'mon, people! Let's do this and get it over and done with." Scott motioned for his team to step forward.

"Yes, Sir!" the squad replied in unison.

Virgil stepped into the scanner and smiled at Phones. "Scan away."

On the monitor above, appeared a shimmering blue image, wavering like heat from a desert. It was Virgil's spirit.

Phones studied the readouts and the image to make sure, but John already knew his brother was clear since he had been studying spirit images after he had left Tracy Island, International Rescue, and his family.

"Okay, next." Phones said.

Virgil stepped out of the open scanner, looking pretty bored. Gordon let Tin-Tin go next.

John looked at Scott.

"You know, my security level allows me to bypass this thing." John said.

"Not today it doesn't." Scott frowned, not looking at John.

"Clear." Phones said, as Tin-Tin let Gordon take her place.

John had to do something and fast. Getting scanned was more dangerous to him than facing the Phantoms back in Pittsburgh had been.

"Listen, Captain," he said to Scott. "I don't think we-"

"I don't care what you think, John," Scott said, stepping into the scanner as Gordon stepped out. "You're getting scanned just like the rest of us."

John was about to tell his younger brother how wrong he was, and that he had no intention of getting scanned when an alarm filled the room, cutting off all other sounds.

A greenish force-field surrounded the Captain, holding him in place, and it took John a moment to understand what had just happened: He looked up at the monitor ad saw the small patch of red that mingled with the shimmering blue of Scott's spirit. Then he knew exactly what was going on.

Scott had been infested by a Phantom.

****

Chapter Four

"Captain?" Tin-Tin stepped towards Scott. The clear scanner wall stopped her.

"Shit!" Virgil cursed.

"They got him!" Gordon's light-brown eyes were wide.

"You've got to be kidding. There must be a mistake," Scott shouted over the sound of the alarm. "Nothing touched me!"

"What level is he?" John asked Phones, looking at the data on the technician's data panel.

"Blue." Phones replied and John's stomach twisted. Code Blue was advanced. The infestation must have happened early on, perhaps when the Deep Eyes Squadron first arrived on the streets to get John out.

"He'll be Code Red in three minutes, twenty seconds," informed Phones. "I'm administering a treatment shield and we can send him to the Treatment Center."

"No. We have to treat him now!" John knew that at Code Red, Scott would basically be dead. John looked at the emergency medical area behind Phones. "Is that a fully-operating lab, and is everything working?"

"Yes."

John looked at the Deep Eyes Squadron. "We don't have time to get him to the Treatment Center. I might be able to save him in the lab back there."

Tin-Tin moved over to Phones, who nodded his head and lifted the force field that was holding Scott. The Deep Eyes Captain fell forwards, weakened by both the invading alien particles and the tempoary treatment shield. Gordon and Virgil caught him and flanked him.

"Shit, John. You've done it now." Scott said through gritted teeth.

"Shut up and get on that operating table." John ordered. He turned to Phones. "Seal this lab and keep it that way until I say so. If I can't save him, I don't want a breach."

Phones nodded, smiled up at Tin-Tin, and typed in the commands on the panel in front of him.

"Tell me you know what you're doing John…_Ow_!" Scott's doubts over John's abilities angered his eldest brother. John decided that this earned the Captain a shot in the backside with the anaesthetic gun instead of the intended target of the arm or the side of his neck.

"Dad'll never forgive me if I let you die, Scott," John frowned as Virgil and Gordon helped a barely conscious Scott onto the operating table. "But don't tempt me."

The anaesthetic had taken effect fast, and a few seconds later, Scott was completely under.

"Okay. Here we go." John watched as the operating table flashed a holographic image of Scott's spirit over his body. The majority of the image was a healthy shimmering blue, apart from the small mass of red tentacles around the felt side of his chest, the Phantom particles, eating away at Scott's spirit.

"Holy shit." breathed Gordon, unable to tear his eyes from the image of the attacking Phantom particles.

"How much time?" asked John, his voice tense and his brow furrowed.

Phones flicked on a holo-clock in front of John. It read two minutes and twenty seconds.

"There isn't enough time," Phones said. "When he reaches Code Red, the treatment shield over that table won't be able to hold the alien particles."

John knew that before the ex-W.A.S.P. had finished his sentence. He activated the Bio-Etheric laser scalpel and went after the mass of red that was invading his younger brother's spirit.

The Bio-Etheric laser itself wasn't actually cutting Scott's flesh, but his spirit. It had been designed by Brains to cut at the spirit of the patient. In this case, it was cutting at the alien spirit. John had to cut al of it out, as well as all the infected parts of Scott's spirit.

John worked as fast as he could, moving around the edges of the Phantom particles and cutting them back. At first, John had been almost reluctant to help Scott out. But then he figured that even though Scott knew it was him that he was sending his team in to rescue, the Captain still went through with the mission, even though he could easily have turned away and let him die.

'Time to make the score even then, Johnny.' John thought to himself, a grim yet determined expression on his smooth, handsome face, the sweat beading on his forehead and upper lip. Behind him, the medical team and security personnel were pounding on the lab door, demanding to be let in. John barely noticed them as he concentrated on saving his younger brother.

"One minute." Phones announced, his voice full of tension and concern.

John was closing in on the last of the Phantom particles when it suddenly disappeared from the holo-image.

"What happened?" questioned Virgil, his brow furrowed and his brown eyes intense. "Did you get it?"

"Where did it go?" frowned Tin-Tin.

Suddenly, Scott's body went into a light convulsion and he twisted awkwardly, arching his back.

"Infestation has gone deep." Phones said.

"Tracking." John's voice was steady as he searched through the blue of Scott's spirit for the remaining particle.

"The treatment shield will fail!" Phones' voice had a hint of worry.

"Tracking." John refused to give up.

"There's no time left, John! You're gonna kill him!" Phones' voice emphasized the urgency of the situation: When the condition reached Code Red, Scott would be dead and the Phantom spirit would be able to infect any one of them in the room.

"Leave if you want," Virgil's voice was serious. "But we're staying right here."

Just then, John caught sight of a flash of red and he honed in on it with surprising skill, chasing after it and cutting it down until there was nothing left.

A split-second later and the alarm sounded, indicating Code Red, and the room was plunged into a tint of deathly red.

Then, before anybody could even move, the all clear was given and the alarm ceased, the lights in the room reverting back to normal.

The holo-image of Scott's spirit dissolved away and John blew out a breath.

Too close.

"You did it, big bro!" Gordon cheered, high-fiving John, who forced a smile.

"You're good, Tracy. I gotta hand that to you," said Phones. "I've seen at least a dozen of those types of operations. None of them were that fast."

"Not that there was much of a choice." John told Phones.

"Yeah." Phones agreed, releasing the lab's security lockout function and letting in the medics and security personnel.

John checked Scott's statistics. The Captain might not ever know how close he'd come to dying. And John knew very well that sometimes it was best to keep some secrets hidden. Besides, the medics could take care of him now, and John had some important work to get down to.

Scott groaned as the anaesthetic wore off and Virgil, Gordon and Tin-Tin crowded around their Captain.

"Hey, big bro? You in there?" Virgil gently nudged his older brother, his closest brother, too anxious to even use the whole 'Captain' formality.

"Give me five more minutes, Mom…" Scott murmered and yawned before his light-blue eyes fluttered open.

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that." Virgil smirked at his disoriented brother and squad captain.

"You're also not to tell a soul I said that," Scott looked at Virgil and then at Tin-Tin and Gordon, realizing what he had just said. "Any of you."

Scott looked over at John, too drained to even pick up where he'd left off on their debate.

"You're all right, Captain," John told him. "You'll be back to normal in no time," John turned to walk away upon seeing Brains waiting for him at the door. "You can thank me later. Captain."

John walked away, picking up his backpack that he'd stored safely on a table, and smiled at Brains.

"Ah, John?" Phones said from near Scott and the rest of the Deep Eyes Squad. "We still need to scan you for infestation."

"T-That won't be –ah- necessary," Brains said. "I'll take the –er- responsibility."

"Yes, sir." Phones nodded, letting John pass.

"Hey, John," Virgil's voice stopped John in his tracks at the door. "Thanks for saving the Captain."

John nodded and smiled at his younger brother. "Thanks for the help in Pittsburgh."

Then, John turned and left the lab, Brains walking alongside him.

****

Chapter Five

John Tracy walked beside Brains in silence as they headed towards he science laboratories via a series of well-lit corridors.

"Are you a-alright?" Brains looked at John as they passed through a security checkpoint. This area was a secure science area, and his home for nearly a year now. Very few scientists had access to this area and John was the only non-scientist allowed through.

"The military impounded my ship." John groaned, not wanting to tell Brains about his close call in Pittsburgh.

Brains simply nodded, knowing that it was just a minor thing and that the ship would be returned to them shortly. Nevertheless, John was thankful that Brains did not push on the subject.

A few moments later and they turned into a brightly lit laboratory, containing all the latest in scientific technology. Both Brains, John and another scientist and former International Rescue agent, Sir Jeremy Hodge, had been spending most of their time in this laboratory, working to find an answer of the alien spirits that they were sure would save their dying planet.

"I heard what happened in Pittsburgh," Sir Jeremy spoke to John in a crisp, British Upper-Class accent. "I'm glad to see that you're alright."

"Thanks." John said, not really wanting to talk about it. He put his backpack on the table and took out the plant container.

"You got it? Good work, John." Sir Jeremy grinned.

"Yeah," John returned the smile. "Now to see if it's the _right_ one."

"Forward me the -ah- Phantom data," Brains sat at one of the computers. "A-And everything regarding the five spirit waves that we've –er- collected so far."

"Right." Sir Jeremy headed to the main terminal.

"Spirits?" John arched an eyebrow as he put the plant on a sensor. "I thought we weren't supposed to say the 'S'-word."

Brains and Sir Jeremy laughed.

Then, on the main table, the holographic images of the five spirit waves they had already collected came into focus as Sir Jeremy transfers the data from what they called the 'spirit holding tank'. The spirits swirled and twisted around each other, forming an incomplete picture. There were still empty, black spaces in the flowing blue wave, ones that John hoped to fill as soon as possible.

"Now, let's see if that –ah- plant does the trick." Brains scanned the small plant which John had risked his life to get. It wasn't easy to extract a living entity's spirit, but that didn't mean that it couldn't be done.

John watched with an undying awe as the holographic image of the plant's spirit formed above the incomplete wave. Brains carefully moved the plant spirit towards the others, and like a fitting jigsaw section, the plant's spirit wave joined the incomplete wave. A perfect fit.

John knew that the holo-image, which now seemed to glow stronger, was the opposite of a Phantom spirit wave. Almost, that is, since it still required a further three spirits.

"It's a match!" John grinned happily. "We've got it!"

"Y-Yes," Brains nodded, a smile playing on his face. "The sixth spirit."

"Absolutely stunning." Sir Jeremy breathed, now standing beside John.

"Definetely worth the effort." John beamed.

"I suppose so," Sir Jeremy said. "Even though your little scene today nearly broke every protocol there was. I heard your ship was impounded too."

"Yeah," John sighed, his smile fading. "And by my own brother of all people."

Sir Jeremy chuckled.

"That's right," John told him. "Dear little brother, Scott – oh wait, it's _Captain _Scott Tracy now – impounded my ship and then threatened to arrest me."

"Ouch. Sounds bad." Sir Jeremy winced.

"Well, -er- maybe he'll forget all of it now that you –er- saved his life." Brains said, not taking his eyes from the screen.

"I've obviously missed a lot." Sir Jeremy said lightly.

"I'll tell you all about it later," John laughed. "Both of you."

"Yes, well I'd like you to read something, John." Sir Jeremy handed John an old notebook.

John opened the book on the first page. It continued Sir Jeremy's flowing handwriting. He read it:

'All life is born of Gaia, and each life has a spirit. Each new spirit is housed in a physical body…'

John looked up at Sir Jeremy with a frown.

Why would he want him to read it now?

"Sir Jeremy?"

"Carry on, John."

John gazed back at the book and continued to read it:

'…Through their experiences on Earth, each spirit matures and grows. When the physical body dies, the mature spirit, enriched by its life on Earth, returns to Gaia, bringing with it the experiences, enabling Gaia to live and grow.'

"It's my old workbook," Sir Jeremy gently took the book from John's hands, looking down at it with almost a sad smile. "I wrote it just before your father appointed me to be a member of International Rescue."

Then, much to John's shock, Sir Jeremy tossed the book into the incinerator, used to burn old experiments.

"Sir Jeremy!" John's blue-grey eyes were wide. "Don't…!"

Too late.

There was the sound of burning and the green light appeared on the side of the small machine, indicating that the book had been destroyed.

Sir Jeremy turned to face John, his face calm but serious. "Remember in school when you learned about Galileo?"

John nodded. "They wouldn't do that you."

"They would," Sir Jeremy said. "To all of us. They threw Galileo in jail just because he said that the Earth was not the centre of the universe. It could happen to us as well. Our ideas are _highly_ unpopular."

"K-Keep anything important up here," said Brains, tapping his head. "Destroy any notes or records that might be –er- used against you."

"F.A.B. I'll do it now." John cringed at his words, wondering if he'd ever get out of his International Rescue signing-off habit.

"And when you're done, we can add the sixth spirit." Sir Jeremy said.

"Okay," John said, heading for his room. "It might take me a while though."

"Just make sure you d-don't miss anything," Brains called after him. "And stay away from the Deep Eyes Squadron. E-Especially Scott."

John stopped in his tracks.

"We can't afford to tell them everything yet," explained Sir Jeremy. "And if the Captain's as by the book as people say he is, we _definetely_ shouldn't be telling him anything about the research work we're carrying out."

"I'll keep that in mind." John nodded before leaving the laboratory.

****

Chapter Six

It was back again, starting off the same as every time before:

__

John stood waiting like a hundred times before on the barren wasteland, the lake just behind him.

Then, over the horizon, a light started to outshine the huge moon in the sky. As always, John knew there was something coming, He could sense it even before the ground began to tremble beneath his feet.

Something was coming.

Something massive.

John needed to know what it was. He needed to face it.

The air swirled around him, the dust from the ground almost choking him.

Then, at the point at which he had awoken the time before, he stayed in the alien world.

Over the horizon, an army of thousands of armoured beings _swarmed towards him. Somehow, he knew that they were Phantoms, yet they didn't appear as the energy Phantoms he had faced with the Deep Eyes Squadron earlier on. These were _real_ Phantoms. And armed._

They ran on two legs like a dark wind from the gates of hell.

John felt his heart racing uncontrollably but somehow couldn't force himself to move.

Then, there was a second tremor that came from behind.

John spun around to see a second army, looking almost the same as the first, also charging towards him.

Except, as John soon came to realize, he was not the point of attack.

The Phantoms were attacking each other_. Not him._

And he soon knew, without understanding how he knew, that he was standing in the middle of a battle in the war which was responsible for the destruction of this alien world.

The noise was almost unbearable now and John pressed his hands against his ears and fell to his knees as the two armies swarmed closer to him and each other.

Then, just as the two groups were about to collide, he woke up.

Beside his bed, the alarm was buzzing. He turned it off, trying to catch his breath from the dream. The images were still with him, tatooed into his mind. There was no forgetting them. But what did they mean?

Were those armies really two different Phantom armies? And if they were, what about the ones that were currently roaming the Earth, robbing living things of their spirits?

It was as if the dream progressed further with every anti-Phantom spirit that he, Brains and Sir Jeremy had found.

John shook away the thoughts from his head. He had work to do.

A lot of it too.

He had to find the two remaining spirits.

But now, he had to get ready for the Council meeting in one hour's time. Brains and Sir Jeremy wanted him with them. And he needed to speak to them about the dream first. Maybe they could tell him what was going on.

He sure didn't know.

Captain Scott Tracy decided that he hated Council meetings.

He'd woken up aching all over as a result from both Deep Eyes' Phantom encounter n Pittsburgh, and also from his soul being hacked at after he'd been infested by one of those Phantoms. Now, to add to that, he had a splitting headache.

"Morning, Captain. You're up kind of early." Tin-Tin waved from where she sat at a viewpoint overlooking part of the vast Philadelphia Barrier City. She was wearing her Deep Eyes vest-top, black trousers and black combat boots.

Tin-Tin glanced up at her superior's attire: Scott was wearing the smart black military uniform that he was only seen in when he had to attend something important.

"Going for the formal look, Captain?" Tin-Tin raised an eyebrow.

"Don't get smart with me, soldier." Scott laughed and then winced as he sat beside her. "Remind me never to second-question John when he's got an anaesthetic gun in his hand." Scott added, shifting as he felt a sharp pang in the left side of his rear.

Tin-Tin tried in vain to surpress a laugh.

"So, where _are_ you going, Captain Tracy?" she asked lightly.

"Ugh. Some Council meeting," Scott replied with a groan. "Gonna be as boring as heck."

"You're always bored unless you're out there shooting up Phantoms!" Tin-Tin swatted his arm playfully and he laughed.

"You know, if it was up to me, I'd probably send Virg to the meeting," Scott grinned. "I mean, he _is_ a Sergeant after all."

"Sadist," Tin-Tin smiled. "Good thing it's not up to you then."

"Maybe one day…"

"In your dreams, Scotty!" laughed Tin-Tin, gazing back out of the clear walls and at the huge colony within the Barrier, already teeming with life.

"Always a good place to start." Scott said, following her gaze across the Barrier City.

There was a pause between them as they took in the scene.

Then, Tin-Tin said "You know, it's almost weird seeing John after all this time. I wonder where he's been?"

"I don't really care to be honest," the smile had left Scott's face as soon as John's name was mentioned. "The point is that he left us all without a word. That's something you don't do to a family. Families and team-mates are supposed to stick together, right, Tin-Tin?"

"Sir." Tin-Tin nodded quietly.

"You know, I hat it when you do the 'Sir' thing when we're having informal talks." Scott laughed.

"You made John do the whole 'Captain' thing yesterday." Tin-Tin pointed out.

"We were in the middle of a mission. That's different." Scott said, hating every time his eldest brother's name was mentioned.

"I think you're just upset because he left without a word." Tin-Tin said softly.

Scott glanced at his watch, not really wanting to talk about it. "Oops! Look at the time: I gotta get to that Council meeting before General Gaat decides to lecture me. He's a sadist, you know."

Tin-Tin laughed.

"I'll catch up with you guys later," Scott winced slightly as he got up. "Stay out of trouble."

"Yes, Sir!" Tin-Tin saluted to her Captain and friend, before turning back to watch the view.

****

Chapter Seven

Scott sat in the row of seats behind General Belah Gaat in the Council hall.

The General was older than him and of a muscular build. He was bald but that was something that belied his age. General Gaat had unusually black eyes and a steely glare that sent shivers down Scott's spine. Scott disdained the General, formerly known to him and International Rescue as the Hood before the Phantoms took over. However, in the current situation, General Gaat was one of Scott's superiors, so there wasn't really anything that could be done about the former criminal.

The Council hall was massive, one hundred rows high, making Scott feel small as he watched the Council members enter the room and take their seats halfway up the open wall across the audience, via a hidden door. The Council was formed just over a year and a half ago, by what was left of Earth's top security governments in an effort to hold humanity together after the Leonid meteor had smashed into the Earth, bringing the Phantoms with it. And it was shortly after the arrival of the Phantoms when the International Rescue team began to break apart.

After one whole month of turmoil, in which the lives of half a dozen agents were lost – Lady Penelope, Parker and Jeremiah Tuttle amongst them – Brains and British agent Sir Jeremy had been called away to work on some sort of protection against the overpowering Phantoms. Then, shortly before Brains and Sir Jeremy had made their discoveries, which allowed the protective barriers to be built, John Tracy suddenly went missing. One month later and the Councils had effectively gained power within the barriers surrounding the remaining intact cities, Philadelphia being one of them. Philadelphia Barrier was the second largest Barrier - second only to the New York barrier, protecting millions of people. It had been Scott's home for the last ten months now, after the Phantoms had found Tracy Island and had robbed everyone of their lives.

Everyone except Scott, Virgil, Gordon and Tin-Tin, who were all, by luck, on what would be their last International Rescue mission. It was after this that the four survivors had moved to Philadelphia Barrier City, where the military there recognized them and trained them to become the Deep Eyes Squadron that they were today.

The eight-member Philadelphia Barrier Council sat down, the key members of the military sitting to the right of them, at a lower level. This was where Scott and General Gaat were, amongst a few dozen other officers. Opposite the Council's panel was a platform with a table and some chairs. Anyone who needed to speak to the Council was positioned there. And when Sir Jeremy, Brains and John entered and sat at the table there, Scott's light-blue eyes widened ever so slightly with surprise.

As the Council session began, General Gaat rose from his seat to speak. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Council. Could you please explain why nothing has been done about the Zeus Cannon?" His words echoed through the vast chamber, his voice powerful and commanding, making Scott's muscles tighten with hate.

In the middle of the Council hall, a holo-image of the Zeus Cannon in a geostationary orbit over the Earth came into focus. The weapon was powerful, designed only to fight Phantoms.

"Zeus was completed a month ago," General Gaat continued. "If we attack the meteor with this weapon, we will exterminate the Phantoms at their own home. Why has this not been done?" he turned to the Council. "So, esteemed Council, I would like an answer to my question. We have built the weapon that could save our planet. Why have we not used it?"

"We are here today to vote on that very issue, General." Councilman Steve Zodiac, a former Colonel of the World Space Patrol, told both the General and the audience, his voice sharp yet controlled.

General Gaat sat back down, not looking particularly pleased. He loathed Councilman Zodiac the most out of the entire Council, especially since he knew that most of the votes would follow Steve Zodiac's opinion. And, at the moment, Councilman Zodiac's opinion was not to fire the Zeus Cannon.

"I would like to ask the Director of the Bio-Etheric Center to speak first," Councilman Troy Tempest, former Captain of the World Aquanaut Security Patrol, glanced across at Sir Jeremy. "Sir Jeremy, please."

Sir Jeremy stood, and the holo-image of the Zeus Cannon vanished, only to be replaced by an image of the Leonid Meteor crater under attack by missiles and atomic bombs.

"Thank you, Councilman Tempest," said Sir Jeremy. "What you are all seeing now are the records of every assault on the Leonid Meteor, the nest of the Phantoms. Putting it simply, physical attacks have no effect on these creatures."

The holo-image changed and this time, Bio-Etheric beams, smaller versions of the Zeus Cannon's ammunition, were fired at the crater, destroying thousands of Phantoms.

Sir Jeremy spoke again in his crisp, upper-class British voice. "Please note that although the Phantoms outside the meteor are destroyed, the dormant Phantoms replace those lost from the bottom of the crater. The Phantom population always remains the same, except for the fact that newly risen Phantoms react by burrowing deeper into the Earth.

"That's an interesting point, Sir Jeremy," Councilwoman Atlanta Shore, also an ex-W.A.S.P., said in a thoughtful voice. "We use Bio-Etheric lasers during surgery when removing Phantom particles, do we not? We've also found out that these Phantom particles tend to bury themselves deeper into a host's spirit when under pressure."

Scott felt a few gazes fall on him. News of yesterday's event that took place both in Pittsburgh and, more importantly, in Philadelphia Barrier's emergency medical laboratory had spread amongst the military department like wildfire. And since the Deep Eyes were supposed to be an elite squadron, Scott couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed that his non-militant older brother, John, had saved his life.

"Yes indeed we do," Sir Jeremy nodded. "The remaining particles _escape_."

As he spoke, the holo-image showed a model of the Zeus Cannon being fired at the crater, destroying the remains of the Leonid Meteor but not all of the Phantoms.

"They bury or dig themselves deeper into a patient's body," continued Sir Jeremy. "And when we increase the intensity of the laser in order to destroy the escaping particles, it has been known to cause further injury to the patient. Causing death in some cases."

The holo-image showed the Zeus laser cutting through the Leonid Meteor crater and slicing the depths of the Earth, damaging a blue layer deep under its crust.

Scott felt himself shudder involuntarily, realizing just how lucky he had been yesterday. He was also lucky that John had been there, and that he was surprisingly accurate at operating on Phantom infestations. He looked over in John's direction and realized that John had been watching him, for probably quite a while now, before Sir Jeremy spoke and both brothers turned their attention back to him.

"Therefore, to conclude, the Zeus Cannon will have a very good chance of destroying the Phantoms in the meteor. However, it also means that the energy of the beam is so strong that we may do injury to the Earth as well."

"Injure the Earth?" Councilman Volzac asked, and Scott knew that Volzac was very much behind General Gaat's ideas. "You mean the spirit of the Earth?" Councilman Volzac almost laughed. "Sir Jeremy, we don't have time for fairytales."

"It is not fairytale," Sir Jeremy faced Councilman Volzac with a straight, serious face. "It is truth."

"Explain this to us." Councilman Tempest sounded intrigued.

A new holographic image appeared and the audience gasped, many sitting back in their seats as if the image of the Phantom spirit could really hurt them.

"A-All Phantoms display a distinct –er- energy pattern," Brains explained. "We all know that two o-opposing Bio-Etheric waves, placed over each other, cancel each other out completely. It is theoretically possible to c-construct a wave pattern in the direct opposition to the Phantom –er- energy."

"We have been collecting energy signatures for that very purpose from a variety of sources," Sir Jeremy chipped in. "Including animals and plants. We are currently assembling a wave that is near completion."

From where he sat, John saw the spark of realization in Scott's light-blue eyes as he understood why so much had been risked yesterday in order to retrieve the little plant from Pittsburgh. John watched the holo-image as the model of the completed anti-wave covered the Phantom wave and both vanished.

"Nonsense!" General Gaat leapt from his seat. "Sir Jeremy and his colleagues have no solid evidence!"

At the General's words, John felt a surge of anger flow through him and he jumped up from his chair, his blue-grey eyes blazing as he shouted "There _is_ evidence!"

"Oh?" asked Councilman Zodiac. "What is this evidence?"

"Members of the Council," John said, ignoring Brains and Sir Jeremy's discreet gestures to stop. "Our partially completed energy wave has successfully stopped Phantom particles from spreading through a terminally infected patient."

There was a stunned silence for a moment before Councilman Volzac asked "Do you claim to have evidence that a terminal patient has been cured?"

"Not yet cured as the wave is incomplete," said John. "But we have succeeded in containing the Phantom particles safely inside the patient by using the wave as a shield that the particles cannot penetrate, trapping them in place."

"Where is this proof that you claim to have?" demanded an angry General Gaat.

John's face matched the fierceness of the General's voice as he opened up his shirt to display a metallic chest plate wit a few small buttons. "Right here, General," John held the General's hard gaze. "That's right, _I'm_ the patient."

He stepped forwards and tapped a few buttons on the chest plate, displaying the holo-image of the twisting red mass of Phantom particles trapped within him.

"This is what's being contained within me," said John, his voice firm. "General Gaat, I am your proof and evidence, because I am standing here. _Very_ alive."

And behind General Gaat, all Scott could do was stare in shock at the twisting red mass that had invaded his older brother's body.

****

Chapter Eight

John Tray could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he walked out of the Council hall, Sir Jeremy and Brains walking either side of him, both clearly unhappy with what he had just done.

"You may have bought us some time, John," Sir Jeremy frowned. "But at what cost, I wonder? Do you know the answer to that?"

"No. I don't," John said, not ready to back down yet. "But I can't keep hiding in the background whilst you two cover up for me."

"Dropping into Pittsburgh like you did yesterday is _not _what I call 'hiding'." Sir Jeremy said, not turning to look at John.

"The truth was going to have to come out at some point. And so what the both of you did to save me." John told them.

"Well, there's n-no point arguing about it now, fellas," Brains said. "We just have to find the seventh and eighth spirits and get you back to a n-normal life. Now, let's get back to work."

It was now late evening over the Philadelphia Barrier City.

Gondola lines decorated the protected area above and between the hundred-story towers inside the Barrier, mainly for construction and maintanance.

John had filled one of the large servicing gondolas with his scanning equipment. After the Council meeting, he, Sir Jeremy and Brains had identified the wave pattern of the seventh spirit, and John had decided to start searching for it immediately, starting with the entire city under the Philadelphia Barrier.

"Mind if I join you on your expedition?"

John spun around at the sound of the familiar voice of Tin-Tin Kyrano. He smiled at her. "If you want to chance getting bored."

"Try me," Tin-Tin returned John's smile, stepping into the gondola. "Scott told me that the Council have decided to postpone the firing of the Zeus Cannon."

"Guess I did put on quite a show," John gave a lop-sided grin. "Doesn't Scotty tell you off for not referring to him as 'Captain'?"

"Not when we're off-duty." Tin-Tin laughed melodically, a sound that John suddenly came to realize how much he missed. "Scott's a funny guy there days," she told him, her voice toning down. "I don't think he's really been the same since…" she trailled off.

"Since?" John prompted in a gentle tone.

Tin-Tin looked at him and he could see the hurt and sadness in her dark-brown eyes as she said "Since the Phantoms found the island."

John felt his heart skip a beat.

"Is everyone alright?" he asked. "You all got away safely, didn't you?"

Tin-Tin hugged him tightly, unable to hold back the tears as the twisted memories flooded back into her mind.

"They're dead, John," she sobbed. "All of them. Everyone. When the four of us returned from the mission, all we found was their bodies. Cold and dead. Every single one of them."

John held her gently for a moment whilst contemplating his own loss.

"I'm sorry, John," Tin-Tin pulled away. "I just can't help but think how they must have felt. You know, what it must have been like to see everyone around your own home fall dead for no apparent reason," she looked at him, tears in her dark-brown eyes. "And then, at the end, to feel something invisible next to you, touching you. Reaching deep inside your body and pulling the life from you. And you suddenly come to realize how everybody else died. But by then, it's too late. Far too late."

Tin-Tin pushed herself away from him, wiping the tears from her eyes as she forced a smile at John. "I'd better let you get back to work," she told him. "So what _are_ you doing?"

It took John a few seconds to get his mind back into gear again before he replied "I'm scanning the city for the seventh spirit."

"So, the sixth was the plant you found yesterday?"

"Yeah," John pointed at the screen in front of him. "All of these sensors patch into this monitor. If the seventh spirit's anywhere down in the city, it'll show up on here."

"And if it's not here?"

"I'll gradually expand the search radius until I find it."

"You make it sound so easy, John," Tin-Tin giggled. "But you make everything sound easy."

"Well, I'm warning you now," John half-smiled at her. "This could be a _long_ night."

"Yes, but you did tell us on the transport yesterday that you'd tell us everything that's happened to you when we had a lot of time." Tin-Tin's dark-brown eyes glittered.

John looked at her and laughed. "Smart-ass."

"So, let me get this straight, John," Tin-Tin and John were still talking a few hours later. "_You _were the first spirit wave?"

"Yup," John nodded. "My spirit forms part of the wave that is the opposite of a Phantom spirit wave. It's basically the only reason that I'm still here. It was enough to trap the Phantom particles and keep them from spreading and killing me almost immediately."

"And the other spirit waves?" Tin-Tin asked curiously.

"The second spirit was a fish. We got lucky and found it almost at once."

"A fish?" echoed Tin-Tin, surprised.

John nodded. "Its wave was added to mine in order to strengthen the shield around the infestation inside me. With every spirit we find, the shield becomes more secure," he cleared his throat a little and continued. "The third spirit was a deer I found in a wildlife preserve in Exeter, England. The fourth spirit was a bird."

"A bird?" Tin-Tin repeated. "How did you find it?"

"It wasn't easy," John laughed. "Ever tried tracking a little robin from outer space? It's not fun," he looked at Tin-Tin and smiled. "Although Scott would probably love that."

"You're right, John," giggled Tin-Tin. "He probably would."

"And then the sixth spirit was yesterday's plant."

"You skipped number five, John." Tin-Tin pointed out in the polite tone, which she only used when she was off-duty.

John hoped that she wouldn't have spotted the fact that he'd skipped one and sighed. "The fifth spirit was a little girl, dying in a hospital emergency room."

"You're not joking, are you?" Tin-Tin went slightly pale.

"I told her that everything had a spirit. Dogs, cats, trees and little girls such as herself. I told her that she wasn't dying, but her spirit was just returning to the Earth's spirit, Gaia," John spoke as he recalled that day. "The little girl told me that she was ready to die. And that I didn't need to make up stories to make her feel better," he sighed sadly. "Imagine being only seven years old and ready to die."

"I'm sorry, John." Tin-Tin put her cool hand on his warm arm.

"You don't believe in any of this, do you? I know Scott doesn't." John turned to Tin-Tin, forcing a smile.

Tin-Tin hesitated, thinking. John could always rely on her true opinion, and he was curious to know how she felt about the Gaia Theory. In the end, she looked up at him and said in a soft voice "Honestly? I just don't know, John. I'm not on anyone's side at the moment," she put her hands on his shoulders. "You could have told us what happened, you know, John. Or at least me."

"I know," John said, closing his eyes for a few seconds to let the stress run from his body as she gently massaged his shoulders. "I just don't know how much time I heave left."

****

Chapter Nine

"Hey, guys," Sergeant Virgil Tracy walked into the military shooting range the next day where Gordon and Tin-Tin were keeping up their target-practice. "Any of you two seen Scotty?"

"Not since yesterday, after the Council meeting," Tin-Tin replied. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"I was just going to ask him if he wanted to go shoot some hoops till we get called out or something." Virgil told them.

"He's probably hiding in his room," Gordon said lightly. "He reckons it's humiliating that John had to save his ass the other day. Especially now practically the whole military department knows."

"Yes, he did mention something about getting a few looks during the Council meeting yesterday," Tin-Tin added. "Although I don't really think that he's the hiding type."

"I don't think he was in his quarters anyway," Virgil frowned. "And his comm-link is off too."

"Great," sighed Tin-Tin. "So, if we do happen to be called out, we won't have a Captain."

"And Virg'll be in charge. Horrors!" laughed Gordon before adding "Actually, come to think about it, I think I did see him earlier on this afternoon. Yeah, he was dressed in his swanky military suit. I think he was off to see Major Tobolsk. Yeah, it must've been Major Tobolsk or Scott wouldn't be looking so unhappy."

"I wonder what the Major wants to see him for." Virgil mused.

"Official stuff probably. Who really gives a toss?" Gordon shrugged. "You still up for a game of hoops, Virg?"

"Only if you don't mind me whupping your sorry butt." Virgil told his younger brother good-naturedly.

"You wish! Let's go, Tin-Tin." Gordon said, heading for the door.

Major Tobolsk's office was a comfortable room that overlooked the city, the Barrier's light tinting its contents a soothing golden-orange. However, Captain Scott Tracy couldn't help but feel a little tense.

Scott had known the Major even before the Leonid Meteor had struck the Earth. Tobolsk had once been a member of the Bereznik Army, crossing paths with Scott during both his time in the United States Air Force and International Rescue. Tobolsk, like General Gaat, was a ruthless person who Scott would love to see put to justice. However, also like the General's case, there was no proof or evidence to hold Major Tobolsk up for his crimes. And now, as if to mock him even further, Scott had to take orders from both the Major and the General.

When he entered the room, Scott saw Major Tobolsk standing straight and serious behind his desk, and it took Scott a moment to realize that he and the Major were not the only people in the room: General Gaat was standing at one of the windows, gazing out at the city, his back to the door. Clearly something important was about to happen, and Scott had no doubt that it would involve both himself and the Deep Eyes Squadron.

"Captain Tracy," Major Tobolsk said, smiling as Scott stood to attention. "I believe that you and Deep Eyes extracted a John Tracy from Pittsburgh a few days ago, did you not?"

"Yes, Sir." Scott loathed himself every time he said those words to either the Major or the General.

"I also believe that he later saved your life from a Phantom infestation, did he not?"

"Yes, Sir. He did."

"And what were your impressions of Mr. Tracy that day?" General Gaat asked, not moving away from the window where he stood.

"I believe that he is a capable and determined citizen, Sir." Scott replied.

"He is also your older brother, is he not, Captain?" questioned General Gaat. "Does this fact change your opinion of him?"

"No, Sir," Scott spoke almost bluntly. "For personal reasons, I don't exactly see John Tracy as my brother anymore."

Major Tobolsk nodded slowly, looking down at his desk for a moment, before looking back at Scott. "Captain, you and Deep Eyes are being temporarily reassigned. Tomorrow, you will guard John Tracy when he re-enters the wastelands."

'John must've found another spirit wave,' Scott though to himself. 'But there's nothing alive in the wastelands. Only Phantoms.' He looked at the Major and replied "Yes, Sir. Understood, Sir."

"You are also to report any aberrant behaviour in John Tracy to Major Tobolsk immediately." General Gaat's gaze felt like lasers cutting through Scott.

"'Aberrant behaviour', Sir?" Scott repeated.

"John Tracy carries an alien infestation, Captain," the General looked back out of the window. "It could be affecting his judgement, even manipulating him for their own purposes."

"Is the General suggesting that John Tracy is a spy?" Scott couldn't help but frown.

General Gaat moved away from the window. "The General is wondering why he has to explain himself to a Captain." he laughed but Scott could sense the seriousness in his voice.

"John Tracy has had prolonged exposure to Phantom tissue," General Gaat continued, walking around Scott and scrutinizing him. "If this begins to manifest itself in any way, he is to be placed under arrest and brought back to the Barrier for observation immediately," General Gaat stopped in front of Scott, watching him intently. "Do I make myself clear, _Captain_?"

"Perfectly, Sir." Scott swallowed, feeling a little hot in his military uniform.

"It's only for his own good. You should know that, Captain." Major Tobolsk added.

"Of course, Sir." Scott said, not believing any of it.

"Dismissed." Major Tobolsk said, saluting Scott, who returned the salute to both the Major and the General before walking out of the Major's office. Scott had no doubt that he and the Deep Eyes were just pawns in a plan to somehow get John, Brains and Sir Jeremy out of the way, giving the General the all-clear to fire the Zeus Cannon.

Although if Scott had anything to do with it, he would make sure the General would not have his way so easily.


	2. Part 2 - Onto the Wastelands

****

"Final Rescue: The Crossover Within"

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Note: The events in this fic are totally independent to the timeline in my other fics, mainly because this is a one-off. The ages of the brothers are still the same as my fics: John being the eldest, followed by Scott, Virgil, Gordon and Alan.

The original Final Fantasy story belongs to Hironobu Sakaguchi and Square Pictures, not me. Most of the characters used instead are based on those created by Gerry Anderson. Additional characters from this story are just a figment of my wild imagination. Please do not copy or use without my permission.

My thanks go to my Final Fantasy and Thunderbirds posses (you all know who you are), as well as Natalie (you're a star!) and my best mate Hemma (For embarrassing me whilst watching FF:TSW in the cinema!).

If you have any queries or feedback, don't hesitate to contact me a _jojo_tracy@hotmail.com__ or __aki_leonhart@hotmail.com_

__

Alternatinvely, check out my sites at _http://communities.msn.co.uk/Thunderbir1sHangar __(for Thunderbirds) or __http://communities.msn.co.uk/RPDAllSTARS__ (for Resident Evil and Final Fantasy)_

Anyway, that's my little bit done now. See ya!

****

Chapter Ten

_They came on like a wind from the gates of hell and John Tracy stood his ground as he stood between the two armies, their armour shining in the hot alien suns._

They were attacking each other, destroying the planet as well as their enemies.

The screaming, shouting and fighting of the two armies increased until it hurt his ears. He fell to his knees, holding his head, trying to block out the increasing sounds as the two armies collided in battle.

They tore at each other with more violence than John had ever seen, broken bodies, ripped limb and armour falling away as if they were made almost of nothing.

And then suddenly, the noise and rumbling ceased.

Breathing hard, John looked up.

It was as if the Phantoms were frozen in time. The fighting had ceased and in the silence, John saw that every remaining soldier of the two armies was looking at him.

But why?

What did they want with him?

Why was he even here?

That was when another sound tore into the silence. A roaring sound that was growing louder and louder.

Now John knew that the two armies weren't looking at him. _They were looking at something _behind_ him._

Something else was coming.

Something larger and far worse.

John Tracy woke up before he could even turn around to see what was coming. He hated not knowing what the dreams meant. He hated to find out what they were trying to tell him every time he closed his eyes.

As his heart rate resumed its normal pace, John looked around him on the transport ship, the Copperhead, which was taking him, the Deep Eyes Squadron, and three of General Gaat's men to the wasteland.

In the cockpit in front, Sergeant Virgil Tracy was flaying the transport, his short, mid-brown hair just visible over the top of the pilot's seat. Gordon sat in the co-pilot's seat beside Virgil, chatting away to his older brother about things that were just out of earshot to hear.

John glanced to his right. Whilst General Gaat's three men had been wearing their full armour and full-helmets since they had all met to board the Copperhead, Tin-Tin and Scott were wearing their casual Deep Eyes clothes.

In the seat a few places away from him, Tin-Tin sat in her grey Deep Eyes vest-top, black trousers and combat boots. Her shoulder-length dark hair was tied back in a neat ponytail and she was reading a book.

At the back of the room, Scott stood leaning against one bulkhead, his arms crossed and his eyes closed. The Captain wore a grey Deep Eyes t-shirt, black combat trousers and combat boots over his muscular build.

In the seats opposite John sat the three other soldiers, their helmeted faces giving him no idea as to what they were thinking.

John sighed inwardly, resting his head against the bulkhead of the ship. He knew that the Phantom particles inside of him were beginning to win. He just hoped that he had enough energy and time to obtain the last two spirits.

He gazed out of the small viewport in the bulkhead, watching the landscape, which looked almost similar to that of his dreams, flash past below. The land was dead, bomb and broken vehicles littered the wastelands below him as well as the bodies. This had been the place where mankind had made their first stand against the Phantoms.

The visual evidence indicated clearly that the Phantoms had easily won.

Tin-Tin had gone to put on her armour as Scott returned to the main part of the transport, wearing all of his armour apart from his half-helmet, which he stored under a seat, before going into the cockpit.

Initially, John had been stunned by the information that pointed the location of the seventh spirit to the wasteland. Nothing could have survived in this area, populated mainly by the giant Meta Phantoms. However, John also knew that the scanner's information had never been wrong to date.

Before he had left the Barrier, both Sir Jeremy and Brains had warned John that his revelation to the Council a few days ago would not sit well with the military. He would be considered a traitor to humankind the moment he did anything wrong. All because he had an alien infestation trapped inside him. This was the reason why General Gaat had sent three soldiers to watch over him. If john were to make any mistake during this mission, these three men were to make sure it would be his last.

A fully armoured Tin-Tin re-entered the room, sitting next to John and placing her half-helmet beneath her seat. She was just about to say something when Scott came into the room.

"Right, people. Listen up. Where we're touching down to get that life-form, the Meta Phantom concentration is pretty high," Scott said, command in his voice. "Basic fire is going to be ineffective, so build up your charges and make them count."

"This should be fun." Tin-Tin commented in a dry tone, looking at General Gaat's men.

Scott ignored the comment and turned to John. "Stick close to me," he told his older brother. "And no heroics."

"Everything by the book." John nodded, holding Scott's gaze.

"In a few moments, we'll be dropping some energy buoys around the area," Scott continued. "This will distract the Phantoms and allow us time to land and obtain the target."

"And with luck, get the blazes out before the suckers know we're even there." Gordon chipped in from the cockpit.

"Launching buoys," announced Virgil. "Hang on, everyone!"

Virgil, a skilled pilot, banked the transport hard to the right, forcing John to grab onto the wall to keep himself from sliding off his seat.

"Last buoy away," Virgil's voice was as calm as ever. "Initiating buoys and preparing to land."

Out of the window, John saw a bright blue-green flash of light from the ovo-energy cells in the buoys. The light radiated from these cells would both attract the Phantoms as well as make them visible. So far, as John could see, the buoys were working.

Without further hesitation, Virgil skillfully dropped the Copperhead hard and fast into an open area.

"Half-helmets on," Scott ordered. "Sergeant, stay ready to pick us up. The rest of you, let's move out!"

The Copperhead door lowered to the ground, forming a ramp, and Gordon was the first of the soldiers to step out, immediately taking point, his weapon at the ready.

Tin-Tin was right behind him, keeping an eye on the left as Gordon covered the right. John noticed that even after all that the remaining International Rescue team had been through, they were still a perfectly efficient team.

Scott was the next to walk down the ramp, his weapon at the ready. He looked at John and cleared his throat, the metallic edge back in his voice from his half-helmet's headset and John moved in beside his younger brother, feeling slightly happier that he wasn't wearing any kind of armour as the heat of the wasteland hit him.

Behind John, General Gaat's three men came down the ramp.

"Okay. Let's get this over and done with." John muttered, studying his wrist-mounted sensor as it homed in on the target. He looked up from it and faced the Captain. "Its over that small ridge." John pointed to his right and Scott nodded, signalling to move out as John took the lead.

****

Chapter Eleven

John Tracy could hardly believe the number of dead soldiers that filled the parts of the wasteland that they walked through. Here was where humanity had put up one of its biggest fights. And lost.

John took deep, slow breaths to ease his nerves as they headed over the crest of the small ridge to face even more signs of carnage that took place just after the arrival of the Phantoms.

"The seventh spirit should be just beyond that line of wreckage." John indicated past the remains of a military aircraft that had collided with some old army tanks.

"I don't see how anything could survive out here." Tin-Tin said in a soft voice, looking around them.

"I guess we'll find out soon enough." John said, heading down the small ridge that was littered with wreckage and bodies.

Suddenly, an almost familiar cry echoed around them and a second blip moved on John's sensor. They all looked up to see a beautiful hawk gliding overhead.

"I'll be damned." Gordon breathed.

"A survivor." John smiled.

"What's it doing out here?" asked Tin-Tin.

"Maybe it's hoping for life to return." John replied.

"So, is that our spirit?" asked Scott, looking up at the hawk.

"No," John said, checking his sensor. "That's not our spirit. Our spirit is somewhere nearby though."

"Distance?" Scott was still watching the passing hawk with a fascination John had never seen before.

"Hard to say, Captain," John gingerly stepped over another soldier's body. "It should be right in front of us."

"I can't see anything." Tin-Tin said, nearly falling over a body had Gordon not been there to grab her.

In front of them was another body lying facedown in the harsh ground. As John stepped over it, the reading on his sensor reversed, indicating that he was moving away from the spirit. Puzzled, he stopped and turned around, scanning the soldier's body.

"You're not going to tell me the seventh spirit is him, are you?" Scott stopped beside his older brother.

"That's impossible." Gordon looked over as he, Tin-Tin and the three soldiers kept a lookout.

Scott reached down and rolled the body over, exposing a badly decayed face that made his guts twist.

"Shit." Scott turned away, thankful that his half-helmet kept him from catching most of the stench of decay from the body, but also wishing he hadn't eaten anything before they'd left on this mission.

John, on the other hand, seemed barely fazed by the grotesque, rotting face of the dead soldier – visable through the helmet's old broken faceplate – or, more importantly, by the putrid smell it was giving off.

"We've found it!" John exclaimed, his face breaking into a grin. "The seventh spirit isn't the soldier. It's his ovo-pack."

"What?" Gordon glanced at John for a moment before turning back to keep watch.

"How can that be?" Scott asked, once again by his older brother's side. "The ovo-packs power our weapons, the Barriers, almost everything we use against the Phantoms. It's just Bio-Etheric energy."

"And to create that energy," John said in his true big brother tone of voice. "We use living tissue in the form of amoeba or single-celled organisms."

"You don't have to sound so patronizing, John," Scott's anger flared for a split-second before he managed to control it. "So what? You're telling me that this soldier's backpack if the seventh spirit?"

"Exactly." John replied, getting the large ovo-pack loose enough to pick up, and Scott was suddenly aware of Virgil's voice in his headset. He stood up and said "What was that, Virg?"

"We have incoming, Captain," Virgil's voice crackled slightly over the headset. "They're closing in on your position. Fast!"

John saw the first of the Phantoms coming at them, their shapes illuminated by the energy of the buoys that had been dropped. They were all Meta Phantoms. Some resembling kite-like beings, one or two of them looked like huge serpents, and two towered into the sky like massive jellyfish.

Suddenly, one of General Gaat's men was attacked by one of the smaller Phantoms, which emerged from the ground, tearing out his soul before the soldier could even scream. His spirit sparkled blue in the air for a few seconds before disintergrating completely into the Phantom.

Tin-Tin took out the Phantom with a single shot as the soldier's empty body slumped to the ground.

"Gordon," Scott ordered. "Get the ovo-pack."

John could do nothing but stare at the oncoming Meta Phantoms, feeling almost giddy looking at them. He fought off the nauseating feeling as he turned to Scot.

"Captain. Those buoys?" John said as Scott fired at a large advancing Phantom, killing it off.

"Yeah?" Scott prompted.

"They're not working." John said, and for some strange reason, he felt like laughing.

"Thank you, John." Scott glanced at him for a split second.

John tried not to smile, but couldn't stop. This whole mess wasn't meant to be funny. Not when they were all possibly about to be killed.

But suddenly, even that didn't seem to matter.

John felt part of himself being controlled involuntarily, and the other part of him just didn't care.

Then, everything around him seemed to spin at grotesque angles in slow motion, the sudden burning heat making him sweat. He wondered how Scott and the others could stand out here in their massive armour with the heat so unbearable.

"Are you alright, John?" Scott asked, staring at John, his voice sounding concerned beneath the helmet's metallic tone.

"Of course I am." John said, even though his voice sounded drawn.

"Let's get the blazes outta here!" Scott yelled. "Standard formation, people. Tin-Tin, take point."

"Something's not right," Tin-Tin said, leading the group back to the Copperhead as the others followed. "This shouldn't be happening!"

"It's as if something's attracting them. And I'm not talking about those beans I had with my breakfast." Gordon joked, trying to ease the tension. To his credit, Tin-Tin managed a small laugh.

John stumbled over a rock as the group scrambled back up the small ridge. To him, it felt as if he had completely lost contact with the rocky ground, no longer able to feel or control his legs anymore.

Everything was so hazy now that John couldn't quite figure out what had happened next, but Scott had pulled his arm over his armoured shoulder and was pulling him along.

"Get us out of here, Virgil!" Scott shouted, and John could no longer feel his body. He felt as if he was drifting away, out of his body. He knew he wouldn't have made it far without Scott dragging him along. Maybe they could stop for a quick rest. The John could tell his younger brother how lucky he was that Scott was here, and how he never meant to hurt anyone by leaving almost a year ago.

John suddenly twisted sideways, vaguely noting that Scott's grip on him was no longer there, and felt the distant pain of his body hitting the ground.

****

Chapter Twelve

Captain Scott Tracy couldn't believe what was going on when John suddenly twisted away from him and fell facedown onto the ground.

The Captain fired at a flying Phantom, taking it out as he crouched beside John and gently rolled him over. "John? John, can you hear me?"

No response.

"Captain!" called Gordon. "We have to keep moving!"

Scott used part strength, part brute force, to sling John's unconscious form over his shoulder as he ran for the transport craft.

"Fire in the hole!" Tin-Tin warned, building up a high charge in her modified assault rifle and fired a powerful round into a Phantom that was coming up behind her Captain.

Scott nodded his thanks to Tin-Tin as they ran for the hovering Copperhead.

"Virgil!" Scott shouted as they approached the waiting ship. "Get ready to lift!"

"Yes, Sir!" Virgil replied through the helmet's built-in headset.

"The rest of you clear these bastards back form the transport," orders Scott. "Tin-Tin, take the front. Gordon, the rear. Thirty seconds is all we've got, people. Make each second count!"

His plan worked like it should have: He stopped with John still slung over his shoulder near the ramp of the hovering Copperhead and shot at any Phantoms which came into sight on the other side of the craft by firing under it.

Tin-Tin was to his right, Gordon to his left, both firing at any Phantom that might have even the slightest chances of reaching the Copperhead before it would get a safe height into the air.

Scott then headed up the ramp, stepping inside the main room and laying John down as gently as he could on the deck, before moving to the tactical chair.

A few seconds later and Tin-Tin, Gordon and the General's men entered the room, all of them still firing out of the closing ramp.

"Meta coming in fast!" notified Gordon, watching the hatch finally close.

"Get us out of here, Virg!" Scott shouted.

"Love to, Sir," Virgil called from the cockpit, lifting the Copperhead further off the ground. "Except I've got this _huge _Meta blocking-"

"Just do it, Sergeant!" commanded Scott, studying the tactical hologram as it came into focus, showing the huge Meta in front of them. His keen, light-blue eyes picked up an opening. A small one. It was going to be tight. "Head right, Virg! Keep it low and keep it fast!"

The Copperhead moved sharply to the right, slipping between two smaller Phantoms and out from under the Meta Phantom.

"Virg, see the canyon on your right?" Scott asked, already mapping their escape route using the holo-map.

"On it, Captain," Virgil replied, his voice surprisingly calm as he banked the Copperhead hard to the right, avoiding another Meta Phantom. "Rock and roll!"

"Tin-Tin. Take over." Scott said, moving out of the tactical chair as she took his place.

Scott removed his half-helmet and knelt beside John, who still hadn't moved. The metal of his brother's chest-plate was hot to touch, and Scott figured that the heat from the wasteland must have affected the shielding around the protective plate.

"We have to get John to Brains and Sir Jeremy," Scott said to Tin-Tin at the tactical chair. "Give Virg some directions on how to get us out of this mess, a.s.a.p."

"You have your orders, Sir," one of General Gaat's men said. "Don't disobey the General."

Scott shook his head, finding it hard to believe what he had just heard. Even though Scott had still not quite forgiven John for leaving the family almost a year ago, he still had enough of a heart to make sure John was alright before even considering telling the General or Major what had happened. Angrily, Scott stood up and turned to face the two soldiers. "Look, I don't know who the-"

Scott stopped as he saw the two soldiers had pulled their guns out, guns loaded with bullets, and had their weapons aimed at his head.

"Do what you were told by the General, Sir," said the other soldier. "And we won't have to spoil that pretty-boy face of yours."

"Are you two nuts?" Gordon shouted back from the co-pilot's seat in the cockpit, getting up and moving towards the cabin.

"What the blazes is going on here?" Scott demanded, although deep inside, he already knew the answer: General Gaat had sent these men to watch over him and make sure he would arrest John as soon as anything happened. It was quite clear that by being chased by an almost crazy amount of Phantoms, and having John pass out in the middle of it all, would qualify under the General's orders. However, with John in a critical condition, Scott wasn't about to turn his own brother in. He knew he had become a cold-hearted bastard since he had lost the majority of his family to the Phantoms, but the small part of him that still cared knew how wrong this whole situation was.

"A little help, somebody!" Virgil called from the cockpit.

Tin-Tin turned her attention back to the tactical holo-images. "Up the next canyon on your left, Virgil!" She saw the canyon walls flash past the viewport to her right, noticing how some parts were just inches away from the Copperhead's wings.

"Lower your weapons, soldiers!" Scott said, keeping the force and lowness in his voice. "That's an order!"

The first soldier shook his head, his expressions unreadable beneath his full-helmet as he said "I'm sorry, Sir, but we have no choice but to relieve you of your command."

"This civillian needs medical attention." Scott said, pointing at John, kicking himself inwardly for his use of words. John wasn't just a civillian. He was his own _brother _damnit. "If you want, you can arrest him _after _he's been treated."

"Those are not our orders," the second soldier said. "We are to arrest John Tracy. And you, Captain. Whatever happens after that is no longer our concern."

"Man," Gordon growled, his hands clenching into fists. "You two are some cold-blooded mutha-"

"I won't let you do this, soldiers," Scott interrupted, looking at the two men opposite him. "If you want to stick to your orders, a few of us are gonna get shot before this is over."

"Staring with you, so _stand down_, Captain." the first soldier said.

Gordon moved to flank Scott, and even though Tin-Tin remained in the tactical seat, her posture made it clear that she was ready to act.

Three to two.

Scott had no doubt that the Deep Eyes Squad would win. He just didn't want one of his teammates hurt in the process.

Tension filled the interior of the Copperhead. The silence broken every now and then by Tin-Tin directing Virgil through the wastelands.

"These things are everywhere!" Virgil exclaimed.

"I know that, Virgil." Tin-Tin said, trying to keep her voice calm.

"So, which way?" the panic was not too far below the surface of Virgil's voice now.

"No way is completely open," replied Tin-Tin. "You're going to have to try and get between a few of them."

"Oh, that's just terrific."

Scott's gaze never left the two soldiers pointing their guns at him.

It was a standoff both inside and outside the Copperhead.

And on the deck in front of him, John could be dying. Something needed to happen. Fast.

But what?

****

Chapter Thirteen

__

John waited for the fighting and noise to cease around him before he looked up at the two Phantom armies. Like before, the Phantoms had suddenly stopped fighting and were now looking in his direction.

But not at_ him_

There was something coming behind_ him._

John turned to look in the same direction as a roaring sound broke the silence.

Something else was coming.

John's mouth fell open as soon as he saw what it was.

A massive wall of fire was heading straight for them, its angry flames of red and orange tearing up anything and everything in its path, stretching as far as he could see in all directions.

There was no stopping it.

The two armies around him turned to run, but John found that he couldn't move. He knew that the wall of fire wouldn't touch him. It was as if he was here to observe something that had already happened in the past, not the present.

The wall of flames closed in with almost unbelievable speed, destroying everything around him. Completely and totally.

The standoff wasn't going to end well.

General Gaat's two remaining men were trained soldiers, both willing to shoot anyone who stood in the way of their assigned mission.

"Hard to your left, Virgil," Tin-Tin instructed. "There's a small opening between the two Metas."

"I see it," Virgil said from the cockpit, his voice tense. "I'm on it." His focus was completely on getting them out of the wasteland in one piece, unaware of the scene unfolding behind him.

Scott and Gordon braced themselves against two of the seats as the Copperhead banked hard left. General Gaat's two soldiers were also prepared for the sudden movement of the transport, their handguns still aimed at the Deep Eyes Captain's head.

Suddenly, halfway through the Copperhead's tight turn, John cried out, sitting bolt upright, his blue-grey eyes wide, and coming face to face with the second of the General's men.

Startled, both of the soldiers fired, the first soldier's bullet just skimming Scott's scruffy, dark brown hair and hitting the thick bulkhead behind him.

The second soldier had been so startled by John's sudden movement that he leapt from his seat and fired, point blank, at him. The impact of the shot slammed John backwards, his head hitting the deck hard.

"John!" Scott moved towards his older brother and the two soldiers fired again. This time, at him, the impact forcing him to the deck.

"No!" Tin-Tin moved like lightning, swinging out of the tactical chair and kicking the gun out of the second soldier's hand before he could move again. Then, in the same motion, she smashed her partially armoured, gloved fist into the soldier's face slamming him into the bulkhead and knocking him out.

Gordon smashed into the first soldier, knocking him back as he fired again, the bullet hitting Gordon's half-helmet that was stored under a seat near John's unmoving body.

"Hold on!" Virgil shouted from the Copperhead's cockpit, twisting the craft almost on one side as he tried to squeeze the ship between two Meta Phantoms.

Tin-Tin braced herself against one of the fixed seats, in the cabin tilting wildly as the Copperhead did a tight bank to the right. Gordon was also still on his feet, one hand clamped around a fixed seat, the other one in a dead grip on John's still form, stopping his eldest brother's body from the sliding as Scott and both of General Gaat's men slammed into the opposite wall of the craft.

The soldier whom Tin-Tin had attacked was still out cold. The first soldier, however, was more prepared and rolled, coming up with his back against the bulkhead, a second gun in his hand. He kicked Scott hard in the side as he struggled to his feet, before grabbing the Captain by the hair and yanking him up, pressing the gun's cold barrel against the side of his head.

"No tricks from either of you two," threatened he soldier. "Or you can start looking for another soldier to take Captain Tracy's place."

Gordon looked at his Captain and older brother, taking in the four bullets that were lodged into the torso of his armour, and another one that had gone into the upper side of his left forearm, about two inches below his elbow.

"Stand down, soldier." Scott ordered and the soldier yanked his head back further, still keeping the gun to his right temple.

"You're in no position to argue, Captain," the soldier sneered. "Nobody from your pathetic squadron is either."

"Shit!" Virgil shouted from the cockpit. "Everyone to my left, _now_!"

Everyone but Scott and the soldier were already on the left side of the Copperhead, and all of them soon saw the reason for Virgil's concern:

Suddenly, part of a Meta Phantom's tentacle emerged through the wall of the Copperhead, sweeping through the right side of the ship, and passing out the back as quickly as it had come. It all happened so fast that Gordon and Tin-Tin barely knew what was going on before it was all over.

Scott's mind had kicked into high gear as soon as he saw the tentacle coming.

His instincts taking over, he had somehow managed to free himself from the surprised soldier's grasp, feeling a stab of pain in his head as he felt some strands of his dark brown hair being ripped out by the soldier's grip. Scott dived for the opposite side of the ship, the Meta Phantom's tentacle barely missing him as he landed on his injured arm and cried out.

The soldier had not been as lucky.

The Meta Phantom's tentacle passed right through him, ripping out his spirit from his body, and pulling it out of the back of the Copperhead as the tentacle disappeared through the back of the craft.

"We're clear!" Virgil shouted from the cockpit. "Is everyone alright back there?"

Nobody answered for a moment as the soldier holding the gun still stood braced against the wall, the gun still in his hand.

Then, as Virgil levelled the Copperhead back out, the soldier crumpled to the ground, his helmet hitting the deck with a sonorous _clang_.

"Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy." Gordon muttered, letting go of the seat and John and standing straight, moving over to see if the soldier was really dead.

Scott picked himself off the deck, holding his injured arm close to his body as he went to check on John. His older brother was still breathing, but his pulse was weak. The chest plate had taken the damage of the bullet, acting almost like a bullet-proof vest or like the armour Scott was wearing that had taken four out of the five bullets fired at him and saved his hide. Scott looked closer at the area where the bullet had imbedded itself into John's chest plate, right over his heart, and was only slightly relieved to see that John wasn't actually bleeding.

"Get us back to Philadelphia, Sergeant," Scott said. "And fast!"

"Is he alright?" Tin-Tin asked, sitting back in the tactical chair.

"Honestly?" Scott looked at Tin-Tin and Gordon. "I just don't know."

And he didn't.

****

Chapter Fourteen

The view from General Gaat's office was stunning. It was something the General never tired seeing. He even had his desk turned to face the huge window in the room so that the barrier's orange glow was always on him. It was a constant reminder that humans lived in constant fear within the Barrier. And, if he had his way, he would see the day when the Barrier ceased to exist and all life would be restored to the dead wastelands outside all the Barriers in the world.

All he needed was permission to fire the Zeus Cannon.

There was a knock at his office door.

"Come in." he said, glancing up from the paperwork in front of him.

Major Tobolsk walked in and saluted.

"The Deep Eyes Squadron are returning from the wasteland, Sir," informed Major Tobolsk. "Apparently, there was an incident."

General Gaat forced himself to keep the smile from his face. This was what he had planned and hoped would happen. "What kind of incident?"

"It would seem," replied the Major. "That the Phantoms were attracted to John Tracy."

"Attracted to him?" General Gaat asked. The situation was even better than he thought. The Council would never allow John to roam free now. And Sir Jeremy and Mr. Hackenbacker's work would be condemned to failure.

Major Tobolsk nodded. "Yes, Sir. The crew barely escaped with their lives. However, it seems that Captain Scott Tracy is still in command."

"How?" General Gaat demanded, his large brow furrowing. He had dispatched three of his best men with that mission. He knew that the Deep Eyes were good, but his men should have had the upper hand of the situation.

"I don't know." Major Tobolsk replied.

"Issue an order," General Gaat said decisively. "I want Captain Tracy placed under arrest with John Tracy."

"Understood, Sir."

"And all research materials belonging to Sir Jeremy and Mr. Hackenbacker's wave theory are to be confiscated immediately. Arrest them too."

"Sir. The Council may not be too happy with that plan of action."

General Gaat stood up and moved over to look out of the window, his back to the Major. "And what a tragedy _that_ would be. This kind of thing is exactly what I've been waiting for. The good Captain and John Tracy have just opened the door for us."

"I still don't understand, Sir."

General Gaat shook his head at the stupidity of some of his men. "Major, by tomorrow morning, the Council will be at our feet, thanking us for exposing the traitors in our midst. Sir Jeremy and Mr. Hackenbacker's work _attracts_ Phantoms. It doesn't destroy them. The Council will implore us to utilize the Zeus Cannon and save them from the Phantoms," he looked at Major Tobolsk. "Now, follow my orders, Major. Dismissed."

Major Tobolsk saluted, turned, and left the General's office, leaving the General to his view of the city under the orange tint of the barrier.

John's unconscious body was slung over Scott's shoulder as the Captain, now out of his armour, made a dead run for the Treatment Center, the rest of the Deep Eyes Squadron, also out of their heavy armour, not far behind.

Sergeant Virgil Tracy had made record time in getting the Copperhead back to the Philadelphia Barrier, and Scott had called ahead to Sir Jeremy and Brains so that they would be ready and waiting.

So far, they had been lucky not to have any run-ins with any of General Gaat's men. Clearly, the General hadn't expected them back so soon, but the Deep Eyes team were ready for any encounters.

Sir Jeremy and Brains were already waiting when Scott burst into the treatment room with John, closely followed by Virgil, Tin-Tin and Gordon. Brains motioned to an operating table, already prepped and waiting.

As Scott gently laid John down on his back on the operating table, Sir Jeremy asked "Did you manage to get the seventh spirit?"

"Right here." Gordon said, holding up the ole ovo-pack.

"Good." Sir Jeremy nodded.

Scott motioned for Virgil and Gordon to take up posts outside the door. Both of them knew, without their Captain having to tell them, not to let anybody into the treatment laboratory.

Scott looked anxiously at John, watching Brains and Sir Jeremy at work. John's breathing was shallow and his skin was pale, almost death-like.

"How is he?" he finally asked, not being able to stand the silence in he room.

As soon as Sir Jeremy looked up at him, Scott could tell that the news was not good.

"Your brother is dying, Captain."

"There must be something you can do." Scott said, feeling almost helpless.

Brains indicated to John's chest plate. "John is fighting with o-only six of the eight –er- spirits. We'll have to implant the seventh spirit d-directly into his chest plate."

"It took a bullet," Scott pointed to the area just above John's hear, the whole chest plate visible now as John's t-shirt was off. "It might be damaged."

Brains studied the impact area, then looked at Scott and Tin-Tin. "I-I have to repair this at once."

"Isn't there anything we can do to help?" Scott asked, his light-blue eyes full of concern.

Brains paused as if to consider for a moment before he looked up at them and nodded. "Actually, there _is_ something you can do."

"Name it." Scott said quickly.

"W-Well, you may not be so fast to act when you –er- hear what it is." Brains told him.

"Just tell us what to do." Tin-Tin spoke softly.

Brains nodded. "John's vital signs are –er- dropping. He's s-slipping away from us."

"Not the words I want to hear." Scott said.

"I know that," Brains said. "But what Jon n-needs is a sympathetic soul to help hold him in this world," Brains looked at the two soldiers. "It's up to both of you to –er- choose who goes in."

Scott looked Brains in the eyes and said "I'll do it."

"R-Right. I'll get everything ready." Brains nodded.

Scott turned to Tin-Tin. "Make sure these people aren't disturbed, no matter what it takes. Understood?"

"Understood," Tin-Tin nodded. "Good luck, Captain." She went through the door to tell Virgil and Gordon what was going on.

"Okay. I'm ready." Scott turned to Brains and Sir Jeremy.

"Right. L-Lie down on that operating table." Brains pointed at the operating table next to John's prone body as Sir Jeremy checked John's condition.

"Keep him with us, Captain." Sir Jeremy said.

"You can count on it." Scott said, feeling a pinprick in his right shoulder, just above his muscular bicep. He had no idea what Brains and Sir Jeremy meant, or how he was going to do what he had just promised, but he would do everything he possibly could to stop them from losing John.

A moment later and he closed his eyes, the sounds of the operating room fading away and vanishing, the hazy room blurring into something totally and utterly different.

****

Chapter Fifteen

_Captain Scott Tracy had never seen anything quite like what he was seeing now:_

Twin alien-looking suns filled the sky, a massive moon seemed to hang impossibly low on the horizon. It was hotter here than it had been on the wasteland, inclusive of the fact that he had been in full armour back on the wastelands. Here, he was still in his casual military t-shirt, black combats and black combat boots. How he had gotten here was a mystery.

Around him, the land looked similar to the wastelands that the Deep Eyes team had just returned from, only more alien. Instead of human remains and the wrecks of human vehicles, there were alien ships and the twisted remains of blasted trunks and strange tree-like structures.

Where the blazes was he?

Where had Brains and Sir Jeremy sent him?

And how?

Nothing made sense at all.

"Captain?"

Scott jumped and turned, caught off guard by John's voice. His older brother was standing beside him and Scott was sure that John hadn't been there a moment before.

"Where are we?" Scott asked, glad that he had found John. Or at least he though he had found John.

"On an alien planet," John glanced at the wreck of an alien ship of some sort. "Kinda weird, isn't it?"

"I'll say. How is all this possible anyway?" Scott asked.

John shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure, Captain."

"You seem pretty calm about all of this." Scott said, feeling far from calm himself. He'd never expected to wind up on an alien planet with his eldest brother.

"I guess I am," John laughed. "I've been having this dream every night for months."

"Dream?" echoed Scott. He had no idea as to how he could be inside John's dream. And a dream, to him would never feel as real as this.

"Well whatever it is…" John paused and looked oddly at Scott. "You're really here, aren't you?"

"I guess so." Scott shrugged.

"What's happening to me?" wondered John.

"We escaped the Phantoms in the wastelands and got you back to Philadelphia Barrier. Brains and Sir Jeremy are implanting the seventh spirit directly into you right now."

"So you're my spiritual support?" John looked suspiciously at Scott. "Who forced you into it?"

"Nobody," replied Scott. "I volunteered to do it myself."

"That's something new from you, Captain," John said. "Tin-Tin told me how you were mad at me for leaving the Island and International Rescue. I though you weren't the forgiving type."

"Only because you never told us why you had left, John."

"Well, now you know."

"Yeah," Scott's voice softened. "And I guess we could let this one go."

"Is that an apology I hear coming from you, Captain?" John looked both amused and surprised. "I thought you weren't the apologising type."

"I'm not," Scott said with a lop-sided smile. "The day I apologize to anyone and mean it is the day that I die."

"Sounds believable, Captain," John laughed. "So, are we cool?"

"Only if you stop calling me Captain when I'm off-duty." Scott laughed and John caught a glimspe of his brother's mischevious smile, something he hadn't seen since the day before he had left the Island.

"C'mere, you!" John laughed, hugging his younger brother and Scott let him, inwardly realizing just how much he had missed John. How much he had missed not having anyone to look up to.

"Y'know, I'm glad that you're here, Scotty," John said, pulling away from his younger brother. "I think somebody else really needs to see what's been going on around here."

"Don't worry, John. I'm not leaving anyway." Scott told him.

John smiled faintly and looked over at his brother. "Oh, in a moment, you might wish you could."

Scott gave his brother a funny look, and was just about to say something when the ground on which they stood on began to shake and from over the nearby hill, a rumbling sound filled the air…

General Belah Gaat watched as half a dozen of his most trusted men, under the leadership of Major Tobolsk, ransacked John Tracy's lounge area on his ship. So far, they had found nothing, and General Gaat's anger and frustration were rising. Where had John, Sir Jeremy and Mr. Hackenbacker hidden all of their notes?

General Gaat had decided on searching the Black Boa first since it was still impounded. He knew that the Copperhead carrying the Deep Eyes Squadron had landed a few minutes ago. He though that it was likely they were all in a treatment room somewhere near the transport bay. He decided that he would have his men take care of Captain Scott Tracy and John Tracy after they had finished searching the Black Boa.

One of the soldiers had accidentally activated a hidden holo-image on the desk near one of the lounge chairs. Major Tobolsk looked at what it was before he called his superior over. "General. I think that there's something you should see over here."

General Gaat moved over to the Major's side, looking at the holographic image of an alien landscape.

"Exactly _what_ am I looking at, Major?" demanded the General.

Major Tobolsk tapped a button on the hidden projector and the words 'Dream File: 13/12/2065' appeared over the scenery. That was the day when John Tracy had dropped into Pittsburgh.

As he watched the dream progress, the General's face broke into a sinister smile. "This is it!" he said, putting a hand on Major Tobolsk's shoulder. "This is our evidence that John Tracy is under the Phantoms' influence."

"Exactly, Sir." Major Tobolsk also had an evil leer on his face.

"Good work, Major."

"John Tracy' dreams, combined with the attraction the Phantoms had to him in the wasteland, should be more than enough for the Council to authorize the firing of the Zeus Cannon, Sir."

"However, the Council is content on hiding inside this forsaken barrier whilst the world around them dies a little more each day."

"What do you plan to do then, Sir?" Major Tobolsk asked, the smile disappearing from his face.

"I think a push in the right direction ought to do," General Gaat said. "Major. Get together a group of your most trusted men and report to me. Bring me a copy of this 'Dream File' evidence too."

"Yes, Sir." Major Tobolsk nodded.

With that, General Gaat turned and headed for the door. This whole case was working out far better than he had originally hoped for.

_A massive alien army poured over the horizon like a monstrous flood, bearing down from all sides, their armour glinting in the twin alien suns. Nearly all of them were armed._

Scott froze.

To his trained eye, he could tell that the alien army was working together, the thousands of them fighting as a unit.

And heading their way.

"We've got to get out of here, John!" Scott shouted above the increasing noise.

"No!" John shouted in reply. "Look over there!"

Scott looked in the direction at which John was pointing, only to see a second army of the aliens swarming over the horizon, also heading for them.

The two alien armies were screaming at each other, firing their weapons, their shape reminding Scott of some of the different Phantoms on Earth. He turned and looked at John, surprised that a) a civillian, and b) the fact that the two of them were caught n the middle of two alien armies, his older brother seemed scarily unconcerned.

A split second before the two armies clashed, Scott protectively pulled John down, both of them watching as the two armies shed each others blood, a scene of the most horrific carnage unfolding.

Then, suddenly, the two armies ceased firing and turned to stare at them. Scott felt icicles running down his spine as thousands of the alien soldiers turned to look at him as both brothers got to their feet.

"What are they doing?" Scott realized that he had never felt so unnerved in his life until now. "Why are they staring at us?"

"Not at us_, Scott." John gently turned Scott around to face the oncoming wall of fire that swept like a wind towards them, destroying everything in its path._

John and Scott held each other tightly as the unforgiving flames hit them.

And went right over them, leaving both of them untouched and confused.

"The last time I got this far in the dream, I woke up convinced that I had been burnt to death," John mused aloud. "Hm. Maybe the seventh spirit made the difference."

Scott turned around to look at what the wall of fire had left behind.

Both of the alien armies had been destroyed in an instant. The surface of the planet was now scorched and dead. All that remained were the empty and broken armoury of the two armies.

And them.

Suddenly John and Scott found themselves floating up off the surface of the ruined planet.

"What's happening?" asked Scott, holding onto John's arm to keep them from floating apart.

"No idea," John replied. "I've always woken up before now."

The two brothers glanced down as they floated through the emptiness of space, not far off from the planet that they had stood on and watched the aliens fight and die. Below them, the planet was breaking up, the crust rupturing and splitting apart, magma rising up between the huge cracks.

Then, for a moment, it seemed as if everything might be all right again. The eruptions subsided and the lava cooled.

Scott let out the breath he didn't even realise he had been holding. He had expected a more dramatic reaction from the alien planet.

Suddenly, he planet shrunk inwards slightly before exploding, sending chunks of debris flying in a gigantic circular blast radius.

John and Scott saw billions of alien spirits burrowing into the largest piece of the planet as the meteor was thrown into the blackness of space.

"Those were Phantoms!" breathed Scott, his heart pounding like thunder in his chest.

"Now I understand everything." John said, his voice filled with recognition as the last chunks of the ruined planet swirled around them.

Just the, Scott was pulled away from John as a blinding light swept over him, taking him before he could even protest.

****

Chapter Sixteen

Scott forced his eyes open, gasping for air. He blinked as the bright light around him stung his eyes. He had to know where he was. And, more importantly, where John was.

Sir Jeremy Hodge moved in to block the light, and then Scott remembered where he was before he had wound up on a dying alien planet. It had been some sort of dream. That's what John had told him. Or most probably a nightmare. Especially after what they had witnessed, Scott would definetely have called it a nightmare.

"Welcome back, Captain." Sir Jeremy smiled kindly, calming Scot's edgy nerves.

Scott sat up on the operating table, easing his legs over the edge of it. "Is it over?"

"It is for now." Sir Jeremy nodded.

"How is he?"

"John'll be fine. However, this is only temporary."

"Yeah," Scott nodded. "He needs the eighth spirit."

"Exactly," Sir Jeremy said. "We need to cure your brother completely." Sir Jeremy then noticed the gunshot wound to Scott's arm. "That looks quite nasty, Captain. When did that happen?"

"On the way back here. Courtesy of one of General Gaat's trained assholes," Scott replied a little sorely. "I'm just surprised that we weren't stopped by any of the General's men on our sprint to the Treatment Center." He glanced up at where Gordon stood just inside the treatment room. "Any problems?"

"Nothing yet, Captain," Gordon grinned. "Glad you're back."

"Glad to be back." Scott surpressed a shudder as the images of the alien planed crawled in his mind. How could John stand those dreams? And every night too.

"Stand down and tell the others to come in, Gordon."

"Will do, Captain." Gordon said, disappearing through the automatic sliding door.

A few seconds later and the rest of the Deep Eyes team entered the room.

"I take it that everything's all sorted out now, Captain?" asked Virgil, sitting beside his closest brother and superior on the operating table. "Well, everything apart from your arm anyway."

"I'm on it." Tin-Tin said, looking for the right medical supplies.

"Thanks, Tin-Tin," Scott said and then turned back to Virgil. "So, all we need now is the eighth spirit for John and everything'll be cool, Sergeant."

"I hate when you do that." Virgil laughed.

"What?"

"We don't need to be all formal with the names. These days, I hear you call me Sergeant more than you say my real name." Virgil grinned.

"Yeah, okay," Scott grinned cheekily at his younger brother and added "So, what _was_ your name again, Sergeant?"

"Scott…!" Virgil looked mock-shocked before he did the worst thing he could think of and messed up Scott's hair with his hand.

"Hey! Cut that out!" Scott tried to fend off Virgil with his good arm as Tin-Tin grabbed hold of his left arm, ready to take out the bullet.

"Now now, children," Tin-Tin chided jokingly. "If you two can't get along, I'll have to separate both of you."

"Yes, Mom." Virgil said teasingly, although his amused gaze was set on watching his Captain attempt to sort out his hair with one hand.

"There should be a law against you doing that, Virg." Scott frowned, pushing some hair out of his eyes.

"What?" Virgil asked sweetly.

"Mussing my hair," replied Scott. "And all because you're jealous that my good looks pull in more chicks than yours. Right, Tin-Tin?"

She replied by extracting the bullet in his arm at a painful angle.

"_OW_!!"

"Scotty. For a tough Captain like yourself, you scream like a girl!" Virgil laughed.

Then, on the operating table beside them, John Tracy stirred and slowly opened his eyes. He blinked a couple of times and then looked at everyone.

"Hey, Johnny. How are you feeling?" Scott asked as Tin-Tin bandaged up his arm.

"A lot better than you look, little brother." John smiled.

"Yeah, well everyone around here thinks it's national Pick on the Captain Day or something," Scott replied a little wearily. "Including General Gaat's goons."

John laughed, then looked at Sir Jeremy and Brains and said "I finished the dream. I know what it all means now," John looked at everyone. "I know what the Phantoms really are."

Suddenly, the operating room doors burst open and a handful of General Gaat's men charged in, all wearing full armour. All of them armed.

"Stand down." Scott ordered his dream as he saw Virgil reaching for his rifle.

"Nobody move!" shouted one of the soldiers.

"Nobody's moving, soldier." Scott said. The last thing he wanted to happen was for any one of the soldiers to open fire on his team, John, Brains or Sir Jeremy.

"You're all under arrest!" the soldier said. "Drop all of your weapons!"

"Under arrest. Well, _that's _a surprise," Sir Jeremy remarked sarcastically. "I'll bet this is all General Gaat's doing. Just once I'd love to have a military mind have an original idea."

"Not sure how to take that." Scott said, never taking his gaze away from the soldiers.

Sir Jeremy laughed in reply. "Present company excluded of course, Captain."

It took General Gaat twenty minutes to brief his men and then make it to the Barrier Generator facility.

The Barrier Generator facility was a massive complex of heavy machinery and glowing blue-green ovo-energy pipes which lead to the very core of the facility. The Barrier Generator was what protected the city's protective orange bubble, the barrier, which fended off the Phantoms. General Gaat knew that this was the starting point to eliminate the Phantoms.

At the main security door, Major Tobolsk ran his security card through the scanner and typed in the entrance code. Inside a nearby booth, General Gaat knew that two men were scanning them, finding out who each of them were.

The heavy security doors slid open.

As the soldiers entered the room, General Gaat turned to Major Tobolsk. "Major, arrest these men in here."

After every one of the dozen workers were escorted out of the door, two of General Gaat's men closed and secured the security door.

"Let nobody through," General Gaat told his men. "Period."

General Gaat turned his attention back to the main control board, which displayed a massive holo-map of the entire city and all of its barrier sectors. At the moment, everything was coloured green, showing the normal flow of ovo-energy.

Major Tobolsk was seated in the command chair. He had done work in the Barrier Generator facility for a short while and knew how to operate the area. The other five soldiers that had taken up the remaining stations also had training on how to operate certain posts in the facility.

"Okay, Major," General Gaat stood beside Major Tobolsk, an impassive look on his face. "Reduce ovo-energy flow on Sector Thirty-One."

Major Tobolsk looked at his superior. "Sir, if we do that, the Phantoms will-"

"What you should realize, Major, is that we must force the Council to take action against the enemy. And that a little scare in a sparsely populated area, such as Sector Thirty-One, will do the job just fine." General Gaat held the Major's gaze.

Major Tobolsk nodded and turned back to his control panel, issuing orders as he fiddled with the controls in front of him.

"Twenty-five percent of Alpha Pipe energy flow has been reduced, Sir." one soldier informed.

"Lower the output to Sector Thirty-One." Major Tobolsk said.

"Yes, Sir," replied another soldier. "Lowering output."

On the holo-map of the Philadelphia Barrier, a small sector turned bright red and an alarm filled the room.

"Somebody turn that damn thing off!" General Gaat snapped, and a moment later, silence returned again to the room.

Just then, a second holo-map sprung automatically to life. This one displayed any Phantom activity within the Philadelphia Barrier. It showed that there was Phantom activity in Sector Thirty-One.

General Gaat smiled at the secondary holo-map and smiled wickedly. A few people would die tonight, but their sacrifice would be worth forcing the Council to allow him the use of the Zeus Cannon.

"The Phantoms are coming through now, General." Major Tobolsk informed.

"Oh, I think we can easily handle a few Phantoms in a contained space, don't you, Major?" General Gaat smiled. He had chosen Sector Thirty-One for the simple reason that it was the easiest area to isolate out of the whole city. And right now, that was being carried out by the military.

"Major, when this night is over, you're going to be a hero." General Gaat looked from the Major and back to the second holo-map, watching the Phantoms spread through the area.

His plan was working perfectly.

Now all he had to do was be patient and wait.

****

Chapter Seventeen

The prison cells were surprisingly more comfortable than John had originally imagined. Each one was fairly large, with beds, a toilet and a sink, all built into the thick and sturdy walls. There were probably more than enough security cameras to see every inch of each cell, as well as the hallway in the middle of the two rows of prison cells. The prison cells were open onto this corridor, with simple beams of light spanning across the open end of the room. Scott had told John that the beams of light were pulsonic lasers. There was no getting through the deadly rays.

John had no doubt that General Gaat's men were carefully watching them all.

He had been put in a cell with Scott and Virgil on one side of the hallway, whilst Gordon, Tin-Tin, Sir Jeremy and Brains all had the cell directly opposite them. Seeing as there was nobody else in the cell block area at all, they all felt that they could talk freely.

Since they had been put into their cells and left alone, John had been telling everyone about his dreams, and what he reckoned they meant. At the moment, he was sitting on the floor in the front of his cell, a safe distance away from the pulsonic lasers that substituted for a large door. In the cell opposite him, Tin-Tin sat on the floor in between Sir Jeremy and Brains, whilst Gordon sat on the edge of his bunk, all listening to John. They all seemed unnaturally calm about being locked up in a jail.

Behind John, Virgil leaned casually against the corner of one side of the cell, whilst Scott was lying on his bunk with his eyes closed and his bandaged arm hanging off the side of the small bed. They too seemed unfazed by their current situation.

John had just finished telling everyone about opinion on what the re-occuring dream meant when Scott suddenly spoke, his eyes still closed.

"Y'know, Johnny. I'm not sure whether you're calling all this right."

"You were in my dream, Scott," John turned around behind him. "You saw the same things I did."

There was a pause as John waited for the Captain to answer.

"Alright then," John said, figuring that Scott didn't really have anything interesting to say anyway. "Let's look at this in another way. Why do you think that we've never been able to determine a relationship between the human-sized Phantoms and the giant Meta Phantoms which roam the wastelands?"

"I don't mean to sound rude, John," Virgil said from where he stood. "But what friggin' relationship?"

"Virgil's right," agreed Gordon. "You have your human-sized Phantoms, your caterpillary Phantoms, your flying snake-like Phantoms, and not to forget my personal favourite, the big, fat giant Metas."

"Down, boy," Tin-Tin laughed. "We know you really love your job, but now's not the right time to get overexcited."

"Gordon's right though," Virgil said. "If you've spent as much time in the field as any of us, you'd know that there's no relationship whatsoever between any of them. It's like a zoo out there."

"Exactly, Virgil," John said, glad that the Sergeant had mentioned this. "I reckon those big Metas are like the equivalent to our elephants or whales."

"Oh-kay then, so tell me why an invading army of aliens bring a bunch of animals along for the ride?" asked Virgil.

"It sounds almost like some kind of crazy Noah's Ark." Gordon commented.

"W-Well, we have always assumed that the Leonid Meteor was intended a-as some form of –er- transportation," Brains said thoughtfully. "Perhaps it wasn't."

"The meteor is a chunk of their planet." John said, recalling the planet being ripped apart in his dream, one massive chunk hurtling into space.

"But how could they survive a trip across outer space on a hunk of rock?" questioned Virgil, his brow furrowed.

John's answer was simple. "They didn't."

There was silence as everyone considered John's words.

"You know, Johnny," Virgil said slowly, breaking the silence. "You're starting to make a creepy kind of sense."

"I agree," Scott said, his voice soft yet still holding its commanding tone. "I think that what you're saying, John, explains why humankind never had a good chance when fighting the Phantoms. All of our strategies were based on one assumption: We were fighting alien _invaders_."

"Precisely, Scott," John nodded. "Think of what you saw in my dream. Think of how the aliens on that planet died shortly before their world was torn apart. Since then, all they have known of is suffering," John addressed everyone with his conclusion. "The Phantoms aren't an invading army. They're ghosts."

Back in the Barrier Generator facility, General Gaat saw that the holo-map of Sector Thirty-One showed a solid Phantom infestation. He turned to Major Tobolsk.

"How many have entered, Major?" General Gaat enquired.

"Not exactly sure, Sir," Major Tobolsk said as he worked on the control panel in front of him. "A lot of them from what I can tell."

"Excellent." General Gaat smiled. This was exactly what he wanted. This plan should give the Council a good scare and get them moving. "Starts the procedure to bring back up Sector Thirty-One's barrier. Are the squads moving in to clean up the Phantoms?"

"Yes, Sir." Major Tobolsk replied.

"And are they being contained?"

"So far, so good, Sir."

"Perfect," General Gaat said. "Now all we have to do is wait until this mess is cleaned up, and by tomorrow, the Zeus Cannon will have exterminated those creatures' home nest from the face of this planet."

Major Tobolsk and his men almost had the barrier back up on Sector Thirty-One when suddenly, things began to go wrong.

"Sir!" Major Tobolsk turned to his superior. "I have numerous Phantom contacts."

"Of course you do." General Gaat growled.

"But these are _outside_ of Sector Thirty-One, Sir!" Major Tobolsk had the slightest hint of panic in his voice. "And they're spreading further, moving at an incredible speed."

General Gaat looked up at the second holo-map. It showed Phantom contacts moving out from Sector Thirty-One, far faster than possible. He looked back at Major Tobolsk.

"What the hell is going on here? I thought you said that they were all contained."

"It's not a computer error, Sir. I checked that possibility first," Major Tobolsk said. "Somehow, the Phantoms are moving in the pipes."

"What pipes?"

"Sir," Major Tobolsk looked pale. "They're moving in the Bio-Etheric energy flow."

"That's impossible!" General Gaat said angrily. "Nothing living could survive in those pipes." The energy flow was what powered the barriers in the first place, protecting the city from the Phantoms. As far as the General was concerned, Phantoms couldn't move or even exist in that flow.

General Gaat glanced up at the holo-map again, and what he saw made his blood run cold: Hundreds of Phantoms were dispersing at an incredible speed throughout the city. And to top it all off, there was a large serpent-like Phantom headed their way.

Fast.

"Phantom heading this way, Sir." one of the soldiers warned.

General Gaat glanced around. None of his men were armed with any kind of Bio-Etheric powered weapon that could fight a Phantom. They only carried bullet-firing weapons. And bullets couldn't even scratch Phantoms, let alone kill one.

Also, none of the men in the room had any real experience with Phantoms. These soldiers delt with humans. All of the Phantom-fighting had been left to the likes of Captain Scott Tracy and his Deep Eyes Squadron.

Through the window in the facility, the energy pipes illuminated the long serpent-like Phantom as it appeared.

Major Tobolsk gasped something in Bereznik.

Two of the other soldiers started to raise their pistols to fire at the Phantom inside the energy pipe.

"Hold your fire!" General Gaat bellowed as the Phantom disappeared through the flooring. "Are you soldiers crazy?"

The two soldiers looked terrified, but somehow they managed to retake their positions.

General Gaat knew that if any of his men opened fire on the Phantom, the bullets from their guns wouldn't harm it. However, they could rupture any of the energy pipes and kill them all faster than the Phantom would.

"Get Sector Thirty-One sealed up, _now_!" he ordered. "If we move fast, we can still get things under control."

The soldiers jumped back to work, racing to complete the process that they had started.

Suddenly, the serpent-Phantom rose out of the floor, its shape illuminated by the energy from the ovo-pipes, passing through one of the soldiers at the energy controls and killing him instantly.

A soldier to Major Tobolsk's right opened fire on the serpent, two other men following suite.

"Hold your fire!" General Gaat ducked as bullets began to ricochet around the room.

The rounds from the soldiers' guns imbedded themselves into the control panel, sending smoke, sparks and parts flying, but not affecting the serpent-Phantom in any way.

"Cease fire, damn you!" General Gaat shouted.

The three soldiers finally stopped as the Phantom disappeared down through the floor again, but the damage had already been done: One of the main control boards had been hit by a stray bullet, and the ovo-tank which it controlled started to react to the sudden fluctuation, starting a chain reaction.

Then, beyond the window of the control room, in the massive main pumping room, there came a muffled explosion as one of the pipelines ruptured, causing all of the others to fail.

Red lights began to fill the board as, around the city, sector after sector of the barrier began to fail.

This was followed by the flickering of light in the control room before it was plunged almost into complete darkness.

Another soldier screamed as the Phantom tore his spirit from his body.

A moment later and the emergency lights came up. Emergency power chanelled back into the controls and the holo-map reappeared on the display wall. What the main holo-map displayed was not good.

Most of the barrier over the city was gone.

Two of the remaining soldiers began to fire at the serpent-Phantom again as Major Tobolsk worked as fast as he could at the emergency-powered board, trying desperately to get the barrier up and running again.

Just then, one of the bullets ricocheted off a panel and hit the Major in the chest. He slumped out of the chair, a bloody hand pressed to the fatal wound.

"What happened?" Major Tobolsk asked.

"It went wrong." General Gaat replied as the light went out of Major Tobolsk's eyes.

The serpent-Phantom came out of the floor again and swiped at the soldier standing next to General Gaat, killing him instantly. The soldier's body slumped on top of the dead Major.

General Gaat turned and ran for the door. He had to get out. Out of both the control room and the city too. "Open the door and get out!" he shouted at the two soldiers inside the security booth.

The last soldier inside the door-security control booth just managed to punch the button to open the door as the serpent-Phantom took away his soul and killed him.

Beyond the window in the control room, another ovo-tank exploded in flashes of orange and blue light. General Gaat then realized that there was no saving the city now. He had destroyed it and condemned everybody within it to death.

General Gaat ran from the control room and into the emergency elevator as the cool, computer-activated voice calmly repeated over and over to get to the nearest evacuation point.

If he was lucky, he'd make it to the military evacuation area. But at that moment, he wasn't sure that he really wanted to.

****

END OF PART ONE….

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Story By: Joanna Jade Ling 'Aki Ross' Yap © J.J.L.Y._11-02-2002


	3. Part 3 - Bad to worse

****

"Final Rescue: The Crossover Within" – Part Two

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Note: The events in this fic are totally independent to the timeline in my other fics, mainly because this is a one-off. The ages of the brothers are still the same as my fics: John being the eldest, followed by Scott, Virgil, Gordon and Alan.

The original Final Fantasy story belongs to Hironobu Sakaguchi and Square Pictures, not me. Most of the characters used instead are based on those created by Gerry Anderson. Additional characters from this story are just a figment of my wild imagination. Please do not copy or use without my permission.

My thanks go to my Final Fantasy and Thunderbirds posses (you all know who you are), as well as Natalie (you're a star!) and my best mate Hemma (For embarrassing me whilst watching FF:TSW in the cinema!).

If you have any queries or feedback, don't hesitate to contact me at _jojo_tracy@hotmail.com__ or __aki_leonhart@hotmail.com_

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Alternatively, check out my sites at _http://communities.msn.co.uk/Thunderbir1sHangar __ (for Thunderbirds) or_

_http://communities.msn.co.uk/RPDAllSTARS__ (for Resident Evil and Final Fantasy)_

Anyway, that's my little bit done now. See ya!

****

Chapter Eighteen

There had been hardly any conversation in the cell block, giving everyone time to think.

Scott was still lying on his bunk, thinking about what John had said.

John's theory explained a lot.

No wonder humans had such trouble fighting the Phantoms. Humankind had always considered Phantoms to be an invading army, when the truth was that they were really nothing more than a bunch of ghosts. Very deadly and unhappy ghosts, but ghosts nonetheless.

All they had to do now was find a way out and get John, Brains and Sir Jeremy to talk to the Council.

Scott looked over at Tin-Tin in the opposite cell. "Hey, Tin-Tin. You're Deep Eyes' technical whizz. We need to think of a way out."

He smiled at Tin-Tin's shocked face.

"Captain. Might I remind you that these walls are titanium alloy, and the bars are pure pulsonic lasers." Tin-Tin pointed out, here eyebrows raised.

"So?"

"What do you mean, 'So'?" Tin-Tin looked even more surprised. "You must have been tossed around pretty bad back in the Copperhead because it's not like I can just wave a magical hand and-"

As Tin-Tin waved her hand to go with her words, the lights flickered and the pulsonic lasers seemed to disappear. As if they had been shut of.

"Hold your positions, everyone!" Scott jumped off his bunk. He had no idea what had just happened, but he didn't like the looks of it.

Cautiously, he glanced down the hallway. The main door was also open, and not a guard was in sight. It was as if the automatic release systems had been triggered, and there was only one thing that Scott knew of which could set off the automatic release systems: Phantoms were loose in the Barrier.

The thought of that made him shudder.

After checking the hallway for any guards, Scott looked at everyone. "Coast is clear, people. Let's get moving," Scott looked at Tin-Tin with a grin. "Tin-Tin, I'm _very_ impressed by your magical hand-waving abilities."

"That makes two of us." Tin-Tin said, leaving her cell.

Just then, a computer-activated voice began repeating a constant message. "Please proceed to the nearest evacuation facility… Please proceed to the nearest evacuation facility…"

"I think we should proceed to the nearest evacuation facility, Captain." Virgil said, repeating the message.

"Yeah. Let's move out." Scott said, taking control of their situation.

"What do you think has happened?" Sir Jeremy asked.

"I don't know," replied Scott. "But it can't be good."

"Goddamnit! Stupid door lock picked a good time to malfunction!" Gordon pounded on the security panel on the side of the main door until Scott casually moved his younger brother aside and dealt a hefty side-kick to the panel. The heel of his combat boots connected and the ruined panel sparked for a few seconds before the metal doors slid open.

"Gonna have to remember that trick," Gordon said, running slightly behind his Captain. "Where'd you learn that from anyway?"

"When you decided to play April Fools this year and locked me in the morgue." Scott shot Gordon an evil glare and Gordon laughed nervously in reply.

Heading for the nearest escape-pad launch site, they passed through the last of the doors and were halfway across a glass catwalk when they all stopped as a muffled explosion sounded. Everybody turned to look out of the catwalk, stunned by what they saw.

The entire barrier over the city was gone, and the tips of the energy towers were on fire like candles on a cake. The ovo-energy residuals was making the Phantoms visible to the naked eye, and they were everywhere, both on the ground and in the air.

People were in a panic, running through the streets almost blindly, escape pods rising throughout the city, carrying survivors to safety. Scott knew that there weren't enough escape pods for everyone, but with the whole barrier gone, most people would be dead before they could even reach a pod.

"We should head for my ship," John said, staring at the crowds of people trying to get into two remaining pods that were left on the building nearest to them. "Part of the Black Boa is protected against Phantoms. We should be able to escape."

"I-I agree," Brains nodded. "T-That's the safest place we could -er- be right now."

"It would also be a lot easier to get to if I knew where it was too," John groaned and then looked at Scott. "You picked a hell of a good time to impound my ship, Scott."

"Hey, hey! I was just doing my job!" Scott protested in reply.

"What did I tell you earlier, John?" Sir Jeremy looked at John. "Everything the Captain does is by the book."

"Look, it'll be in the military hangar. I'm sure it is because I had to sign the report on it," Scott said, holding up his hands to placate John, who looked less than pleased. "Now c'mon. Let's go."

"Hey, Scott," John said, running alongside his younger brother as they took the lead. "When this is all over, remind me to punch you."

Behind them, they heard the rest of their team and friends all gasp in fright. Turning around, John and Scott saw three human-sized Phantoms come up through the floor of the catwalk, cutting them off from the rest of the group.

The Phantoms turned towards John and Scott.

"Meet at the hangar!" Scott shouted, as Virgil, Tin-Tin and Gordon escorted Brains and Sir Jeremy back the way that they had come.

"C'mon!" Scott grabbed John's arm and pulled him as fast as they could run down the rest of the catwalk as the three Phantoms floated after them.

"What about the others?" asked John, sounding almost helpless.

"Deep Eyes'll take care of Brains and Sir Jeremy." Scott said, more concerned about getting both of them out of this mess. Without any weapons, the only option they were faced with was to keep running and avoiding the Phantoms.

Ahead of them were three elevators.

"How can this be happening?" asked John, frantically palming the down buttons of the elevators. "And why can we see the Phantoms?"

"Must be the residual charge from the ovo-energy in the ruptured barrier pipes." Scott said, wondering why the elevators never seemed to arrive when he really needed one. The current situation being no exception.

Finally, one of the elevator doors slid open with a cheerful _ping_ that sounded so wrong at a time like this. John was the nearest to the open elevator and he rushed inside, backing up instinctively as he kept a watchful eye on the approaching Phantoms, oblivious of the tentacles of a Phantom just outside the glass elevator, directly behind him.

A split second later and Scott was in the same elevator, punching the down button, and John breathed a sigh of relief, unaware of the tentacles that were just about to strike him in the back.

"Behind you!" Scott had seen the danger and had shouted a warning to John, grabbing his arm and pulling him down and to the front of the elevator just as the Phantom struck, the deadly tentacles just missing John's head. Then, as the lift started to descend, the Phantom tentacles disappeared through the ceiling of the lift.

"Too close," John blew out a breath as he got to his feet. "Thanks, Scott."

"Whatever," Scott got up and brushed himself down. "Let's just hope that this elevator doesn't pass through any of those things on the way down."

"Sometimes I wish you would just keep your mouth shut." John said in a half-joking voice. He'd already been feeling uneasy, but the Captain's words really got to him.

John and Scott spent the rest of their elevator ride down looking at the floor.

****

Chapter Nineteen

The elevator door opened with another _ping_, and John and Scott braced themselves for the worst. 

What they saw instead was far beyond what they had expected.

"Oh no…" John's voice was soft.

The train station platform was filled with bodies; corpses piled on top of each other, the staircase leading to the next floor up was full of bodies.

"Trains are not operating," a computer voice announced repeatedly. "We apologize for the inconvenience…"

"We've got to keep moving." Scott said, pulling a body to block open the elevator door in case that might need the elevator again.

Then, both of them made their way towards the station exit, trying to step around the countless bodies where they could. They hadn't gotten far when a Phantom came right out of the floor in front of them.

"Shit." Scott said, as another Phantom appeared, and then a few more. They couldn't possibly get out on this level.

"Back to the elevator." Scott told John, as the Phantoms began to advance.

"Not an option." John said, looking at a Phantom that was blocking the door to the elevator.

Suddenly, from the right, there was a loud _crash_ and a modified military open-topped combat vehicle, a Bandit Hummvy, drove down the stairs, shoving bodies aside as it came.

Gordon was behind the wheel, a determined look on his face. Sir Jeremy was in the seat next to him, Brains in the seat behind. Both of them were pale and holding on for dear life since they'd never experienced being in a Bandit Hummvy in the middle of a crisis with Gordon driving.

Virgil and Tin-Tin were at the back of the open-topped military vehicle, Virgil firing the laser cannon mounted on the Bandit, Tin-Tin using the laser rifle she had found. The moment the Bandit had entered the platform, both members of the Deep Eyes Squad had opened fire on the Phantoms, clearing the way for Gordon.

"Fancy seeing you here." Gordon grinned at his two older brothers, sliding the Bandit to a skidding halt in front of them and motioning for them to get in.

As they climbed in, Virgil tossed Scott a laser rifle and then handed another one to John.

"Go for it, Gordon." Scott said, opening fire on the advancing Phantoms, more of them emerging from the platform.

"Yes, Sir!" Gordon hit the gas and drove the Bandit off the platform and down onto the rail tracks with a hard bump, heading in the direction that the stalled train would have gone.

"So, where'd you get the goods?" Scott asked the Sergeant.

"Council Security Headquarters," Virgil replied. "We figured they wouldn't mind us borrowing their gear since they'd already evacuated."

"Yes. And lucky it was close by too." Tin-Tin added, her rifle at the ready in case anything got in their way as they headed for the military hangar.

General Belah Gaat stood on a glass-protected catwalk near the top of one of the tallest buildings in the Philadelphia Barrier. He watched the chaos below him, forcing himself to see what he had caused. On one of particular building, he could see way too many people pushing and fighting to get to the safety of one of six escape pods that would take them to safety.

There were hundreds of escape pods around the city, all on the rooftops of tall buildings, always ready to be launched in an emergency situation. However, the escape pods could only hold a certain amount of passengers. Their capacity was similar to a military Copperhead, allowing usually only a maximum of ten passengers and a pilot. The General also knew that about one out of ten people in the city were trained to fly an escape pod, not that the frantic citizens would really wait for one to come along. They were launching pods in panic, overloaded and without pilots, hoping to reach orbit and safety.

General Gaat knew that wasn't the way it worked though.

As he watched, he noticed that for every one escape pod that managed to safely lift clear, at least another two would end up crashing back down onto the chaotic streets or into a building.

Somewhere below, screams snapped the General's attention to look at a Phantom emerging near one of the escape pod loading areas, killing four people almost instantly whilst others scrambled over each other and shoved at each other to get out of the Phantom's way.

Another escape pod nearby shot up onto the sky, flying for safety, the passengers unaware that a flying serpent-like Phantom was headed their way. It passed right through the pod, robbing everyone inside of their lives, and sent the escape pod out of control and crashing back down to the ground below.

General Gaat turned away, unable to watch another death.

He walked towards the military shuttle on stand-by and walked up the ramp to get on board, ignoring the soldiers' salutes as he made his way towards the room reserved for him, hearing the main hatch slam shut behind him. He knew that the military shuttle could carry about fifty more people to safety, but it only held him, a few surviving soldiers and the crew. That was about fifty more lives he was responsible for taking.

"Please strap into your seat, General," a voice said over the intercom as General Gaat closed the door behind him. "Ten seconds to lift-off."

The General automatically did as he was instructed, not really thinking or caring if the shuttle would safely get into orbit. His mind was elsewhere, thinking about the lives he may have taken, the images of the deaths he had witnessed drifting through his mind like ghosts, tarnishing his soul.

He didn't even notice when the shuttle lifted off with a thunderous roar, taking off for the safety of Earth's orbit.

For the moment, the rail tracks had been clear of any Phantoms.

John Tracy forced himself to take deep breaths, to calm down after their close call back on the station platform, and to think.

So far, they had all managed to safely get out of the prison block, grab some weapons and find some transportation. Yet, he felt that they were still a long way from getting to the military hangar and getting the Black Boa safely into orbit.

"Captain. This line won't take us directly to the military hangar." Tin-Tin said to Scott, seeing the next station platform up ahead.

"I know. We're gonna have to get off pretty soon." Scott said, indicating at the windows lining the tunnel at hundred metre intervals.

"Why don't I like the sound of that?" asked Sir Jeremy, who had seen the Captain pointing at the windows through the Bandit's rear-view mirror.

"Because I don't either," Gordon broke into a grin. "And I'm the one who's driving."

Suddenly, what looked like an escape pod smashed through the tunnel overhead and onto the transit tracks in front of them. For a second, it looked as if the escape pod would remain intact. Then, it bounced, hit the side of the tunnel, and exploded, the blast almost lifting the front end of the Bandit off the ground.

"Gordon, if we're going to get off the track, now would be a good time," Scott said as calmly as he could as a fireball from the explosion rolled towards them in the tunnel. "Everybody hang on!"

John ducked and closed his eyes tightly, holding on as tight as he could to the seat in front, bracing himself.

Gordon drove the Bandit hard to the right, steering it up and over the two-foot concrete platform of the station. Then, without slowing, he smashed the Bandit through one of the huge glass windows and into a wide, hallway-like area just as the fireball rolled past behind them.

Glass rained down over John as the Bandit slid sideways before Gordon got the vehicle going straight again and eased off the gas pedal.

"Clear!" Scott blew out a breath and then patted Gordon on the shoulder. "Good job, Gordon."

"All in a day's driving, Captain." Gordon said in his usual cheerful tone of voice.

John looked up, opening his blue-grey eyes.

Virgil, Tin-Tin and Scott were all brushing glass out of their hair and off their clothes. Both Brains and Sir Jeremy looked as shocked as John had ever seen them, and Gordon took in their new surroundings.

John brushed the shards of glass from his clothes and out of his hair as he looked around. The place where they had stopped had high ceilings and a smooth, covered road running along the middle. The sidewalks on either side were lined with potted trees and skylights were spaced overhead to let in the daylight. It looked like they were in some sort of massive office complex built below the street level, looking at least a kilometre long.

"This is the main military office center," Tin-Tin announced. "I've been here before. The hangars are up ahead and on your right, Gordon, just beyond the main transit station."

"Right." Gordon said, driving the Bandit in the directions that Tin-Tin had given him as everyone else kept a look-out. At the moment, there was no sign of any Phantoms. There were also no live humans around, just empty bodies scattered along the sidewalk.

Just then, a massive Phantom floated through the roof ahead of them, blocking their way.

Gordon slid the Bandit to a stop, his light-brown eyes wide.

"Is that a Meta?" Virgil breathed.

"Didn't know they were this far East." Scott looked surprised.

"Looks like they are now." Gordon said, about to reverse the vehicle.

"Gordon. Backing up is no longer an option." Tin-Tin said.

John looked around to see that another huge Phantom had blocked off the way that they had just come, trapping them.

As the two Meta Phantoms began to advance on them, John looked at Scott, wondering if the Captain had any ideas on how to get them out of this mess.

****

Chapter Twenty

"Okay," Corporal Gordon Tracy addressed anybody who had any ideas. "Now what?"

Scott looked at the two Phantoms blocking their ways out.

John watched his younger brother study the side of the building closest to them and on their right. From what he could tell, the side of the building -with no windows or walls- was part of the main transit station. Then, he remembered Tin-Tin telling them that the military hangar was on the other side of that wall. That was where his ship would be.

"We're going through." Scott finally said.

"I don't see any doors or windows, Captain." Gordon pointed at the solid-looking wall on their right.

"W-What, may I ask, are we –er- doing?" Brains asked.

"Don't mean to hurry everyone, but we're running out of time here." Virgil said, keeping a watchful eye on the Meta Phantoms, now les than a hundred metres away from them and still closing in.

"Excuse me, Captain," Tin-Tin tapped Scott on the shoulder. "With all due respect…"

"Gordon. The transit station," Scott repeated calmly. "We're going through it."

"It's the only way." Virgil agreed.

Gordon shoved the Bandit into reverse, backing it almost against the other side of the street from the station, revving the engine.

"I-I gather this will –er- be somewhat of a rough ride." Brains looked nervously at Gordon.

"Brains. As always, you have a real talent for understatement," Gordon said, half-jokingly, before shouting "Hang on, everyone!"

John Tracy ducked behind the seat for a second time and braced himself as best as he could, the Bandit already speeding for the transit station wall.

The impact of hitting it felt to John as if he had slammed into concrete instead of the back of the seat in front of him. For a few moments after that, everything was weightless as the Bandit went through the wall and sailed over the floor, a good ten metres below them. Then, somehow, Gordon had managed to get the Bandit Hummvy almost on its wheels with a jolt so hard that John though he would fly out.

The Bandit spun like a runaway circus ride on what turned out to be a slick, polished floor. And just when John though that it was all over, the Bandit hit something hard and rolled over once, coming to a stop on its wheels against a concrete support pillar.

It took a few minutes before the dust and noise settled.

John forced himself to take a deep breath before he looked up to see Scott's worried face.

"Are you alright?" Scott asked.

John nodded, not very sure of the answer himself. Nothing seemed broken, but after that pounding, he wouldn't be surprised if half of his body had been seriously bruised.

Gordon pulled himself out from under the steering wheel. "Hey, Sir Jeremy? Brains? Are you two okay?"

John pulled himself up from the floor of the Bandit with a little help from Scott. Sir Jeremy was climbing out of the wrecked vehicle and Brains was just sitting up.

"Interesting." Brains muttered, looking around.

"Another understatement." Gordon snorted.

"Anybody hurt?" asked Scott, looking for Virgil and Tin-Tin, as well as his laser rifle.

"Captain!"

Upon hearing Tin-Tin's distraught voice, Scott spun around, nearly tripping over what remained of the back seats of the Bandit.

John saw the blood drain from the Captain's face as Scott vaulted over the mess of seats and crouched next to Tin-Tin in the back of the Bandit. It took John a moment to follow, along with everyone else.

At the back of the ruined Bandit Hummvy was Sergeant Virgil Tracy. A piece of the vehicle's wreckage stuck into his lower abdomen, staining his grey Deep Eyes training vest crimson. His breathing was shallow and John knew that it would take some quick emergency care to save him.

"Virgil? Virgil! Talk to me, little brother." Scott urged in a soft yet commanding voice.

Virgil's brown eyes fluttered open and he winced. "Ouch."

"Oh God." Gordon whispered, standing on the other side of Tin-Tin.

"Gimme a hand, John." Scot said as he, Tin-Tin and Gordon moved into position around Virgil. It looked as if they were going to try and pull the Metal bar from where it was sticking grotesquely into Virgil.

"No, wait!" Sir Jeremy barked. "You're risking further injury. We need to find the correct tools to cut him out of there. Otherwise you might kill him."

That was when John saw Scott lose his cool for the first time in a very long time.

"Correct tools? I don't see you with any cutting equipment on you," Scott snapped, jumping to his feet. "Look around you, Sir Jeremy. We're surrounded by _death_! Nobody can help up here. Everyone's either gone or dead. And I will _not _lose my brother. I mean where the _fuck_ do you think we can get the 'correct tools' to cut Virgil out? This is a military hangar, not your local D.I.Y. store," Scott turned awe, his shoulders heaving. "I won't leave my brother to die. If the rest of you want to leave, then go. I'm staying right here."

John stood beside his brother and put a firm hand on his shoulder, turning the Captain around and hitting him across the face, decking him.

Scott looked up at John, surprised, as he rubbed his face where John had hit him.

"With all due respect, Captain, you needed that," John said, looking as if he would take control of the situation, just like their days in International Rescue. "Now, I've got some cutting equipment in my ship. We can use those to cut Virgil out."

Scott nodded quietly and stood, the hurt clear in his light-blue eyes, and John knew exactly why:

Since an early age, Scott and Virgil had been two of the closest brothers in the family, even though sometimes they could be very different: Where Scott was the adventurous and daring one, Virgil was always calm and laid back. However, one thing John knew that they shared in common was the pure determination that they showed on every rescue mission during their time in International Rescue, as perhaps two of the key members. The two brothers cared deeply for each other, each willing to put their own lives on the line if the other was in danger. And now with Virgil in such a serious situation, John could fully understand Scott's frustration.

Brains turned back to the front seat of the wrecked Bandit Hummvy and pulled out an emergency medical kit from a compartment under the dashboard. He opened it up and found an anesthetic gun.

"No drugs, Brains." Virgil winced, seeing What Brains was about to do.

"C-Captain?" Brains looked questioningly at Scott, who looked at Virgil, and John could see the brief mental communication between them before Scott turned back to Brains and said "You heard the Sergeant."

"We'll find John's ship, Virgil," Tin-Tin spoke softly, soothingly. "And then we'll come back for you. I promise."

"I'll stay with him." Scott said.

"Me too." Gordon added.

"Nobody's staying," Virgil said in a firm voice. "Just give me a gun."

"Virgil, listen-" Scott began, but Virgil cut him off.

"Nobody's staying, damnit! Not even you," Virgil made the mistake of trying to move and he hissed in pain. "Just give me a gun. That's all I need."

Scott hesitated and everybody looked at him.

Finally, he sighed heavily and said "Gordon. Give the Sergeant a weapon."

Gordon looked at Scott for a moment, clearly not liking his decision.

"Just do it, soldier!" Scott ordered, the authority clear in his strong voice.

Without another look at his Captain, Gordon yanked the laser cannon from the other side of the Bandit. It was a weapon that was small enough for Virgil to handle in his situation, yet it had enough fire-power to stop most Phantoms. He positioned it on a tripod in front of the Sergeant and touched his shoulder lightly.

"We'll be back for you, Sergeant, you hear?" Scott looked Virgil in the eyes. "Whatever you do, just don't die on us, Virgil."

"Yes, Sir." Virgil said, sounding surprisingly upbeat to John. "Now get going and find something to cut me out of this mess, a.s.a.p."

"Okay, people. Let's move out." Scott said, still looking at Virgil and managing a smile before he turned and headed off towards the main section of the hangar and the enclosed runway beyond it.

John and the others followed close behind and in total silence.

Around them, smoke was drifting in large patches from ventilation shafts scattered around the main hangar.

"There she is!" John shouted, pointing and running towards the ship, almost hidden by the smoke.

The others followed behind John, becoming more aware of the situation as they neared the Black Boa.

The ship was on one side of the runway, its tail against the wall. It was sitting alongside a dozen other ships on a massive turntable, called an airtray, which could be rotated so that any ship on the turntable could be revolved to the end of the runway, clear for take-off.

Scott assessed the situation as John moved to a control panel on the landing strut of the ship. Behind him was the control tower for this area of the hangar and airstrip. Someone would have to get up there and get the airtray moving in order to point the Black Boa down the runway.

With a soft _thump_, the platform lift descended from the underside of the Black Boa and everybody got on in silence.

As the lift took them up into the Black Boa's cargo bay, the lights automatically flickered on, displaying to everyone how well-stocked the craft was for almost any situation.

"Hey! A quad-axle A.T.V.," Gordon's light-brown eyes lit up as he moved over to the vehicle more commonly known and referred to as a Quatro. "This is a good thing."

The Quatro was like a giant bubble with four heavy-duty wheels. It also had a spiritual shield and remote controlled arms with built-in cutting devices that everybody knew could get Virgil out and transport him to safety.

"We can use the –er- Quatro to retrieve the Sergeant a-and move him here safely," Brains said, reaching down and pulling out tow ovo-energy packs from the side of the vehicle. "H-However, we also need to –er- replace these spent fuel cells."

"There were some crates down the hangar with some ovo-packs in them." Gordon said.

Again, everybody looked to the Captain for instructions on how to handle the situation.

"Okay, Gordon," Scott turned to Gordon. "Find us some ovo-packs."

"Your wish is my command." Gordon bowed dramatically and headed for the Black Boa's lift as Scott looked at Tin-Tin.

"Tin-Tin. Get us ready for take-off."

"Yes, Sir!" Tin-Tin nodded and headed for the cockpit.

"John. You, Sir Jeremy and Brains get that Quatro prepped, on the lift, and ready to go with anything else that may be required to get Virgil," Scott told the remaining three. "I'm gonna head for the control tower to rotate the airtray. The faster we move, the quicker we can get the blazes out of here."

"With pleasure." Sir Jeremy gave a brief nod.

"Hey, Captain," John said as Scott headed for the lift. "Be careful out there."

Scott nodded and forced a smile. "You too, John."

****

Chapter Twenty-One

"Hey, Captain. Look what I found." Gordon waved to Scott as he stepped off the Black Boa's lift. Gordon was standing two ships away from the Black Boa and next to a large crate filled with rows of glowing ovo-packs.

"Neat," Scott smiled as he ran up to him. "I'm going to rotate the airtray. Cover me, then get back to the ship."

"Yes, Sir." Gordon held his rifle at the ready as Scott made a dash for the tower across the smoky, open runway.

After running across the wide runway and running up about forty steps, Scott punched the door-open panel and stepped inside the control room, his laser rifle at the ready.

The control room was a large space with at least a dozen working stations. It was also clearly an area that had been hit by the Phantoms: Five bodies lay strewn about the room, their spirits taken by the Phantoms before they could even get out of the room.

Scott ignored the bodies and moved over to the master controls at the front of the room, overlooking most of the hangar and the runway. That airtray was just below him. Emergency power was still keeping the main control board online. Scott hoped that it was also powering the airtray.

As he tried to recall how to work the controls, he could see Gordon running back to the crates of ovo-packs from the Black Boa, collecting a second load of the fuel cells. Then, a holographic image of the hangar was projected in front of him and Scott could see that the hangar doors were already open. There were also a few empty spaces where some ships had managed to get out of the hangar before it was overpowered by the Phantoms.

Scott experimentally flicked one switched on the main holographic control board and the emergency flood lights lit up the runway. Then, he switched on his communications headset and spoke into it.

"Tin-Tin, do you read me?"

"Loud and clear, Captain. I'm receiving you Strength Five," Tin-Tin's voice was as clear as ever. "I've programmed in the autopilot and set the flight-path. You can even trigger it from there if you have to."

"Copy that, Tin-Tin," Scott said. "Hey, do you know anything about these airtray controls?"

"Look to your right, Captain," Tin-Tin instructed from the Black Boa's cockpit. "On the face of the side controls, you should see a big dial. Rotate it to move the airtray."

Scott glanced down at where Tin-Tin had indicated. The controls were clear and simple. Scott rotated the big holo-dial and the airtray began to rotate in the same direction with a loud _clang_.

"Beginning rotation." Scott informed.

"Hold it, Captain! Stop the airtray!" Tin-Tin's voice was urgent.

Scott immediately took his hand away from the holo-dial and the airtray stopped with another sonorous _clang_. "What's wrong, Tin-Tin?"

"Problem," Tin-Tin replied. "I'm reading that the impound tractor is still attached to the ship's prow."

Scott stood closer to one of the massive glass windows so that he could get a better view through the smoke, and immediately understood why Tin-Tin had told him to stop the airtray: The impound tractor that was still attached to the Black Boa was not sitting on the airtray, but on the hangar grounds. If they had kept the rotation going, they would have dragged the Black Boa sideways and into the ship beside it on the airtray, perhaps destroying their hopes of escaping.

"Permission to go and detach the coupling, Sir?" requested Tin-Tin. "I can't seem to get it to work from here."

"Okay," Scott said. "Just make sure you take Gordon with you. And keep your communications headsets online."

"Copy that, Captain." Tin-Tin said.

Scott pressed himself against the window, trying to see if Virgil was alright, but the smoke was blocking his view to the wreck of the Bandit Hummvy. He was just about to contact Virgil over the four-way communications headset when he heard Gordon and Tin-Tin's voices through it.

"What's the problem?" asked Gordon.

"We're still locked down. We have to uncouple the ship." Tin-Tin replied, moving towards the impound tractor. She studied it for a moment whilst Gordon stood guard.

"Naturally, the controls are locked," Tin-Tin mumbled to nobody in particular. "With the military, things can't ever be easy, can they?"

From the control tower, Scott couldn't help but agree to Tin-Tin's words. For some reason, nothing was coming easy today.

"Tin-Tin," Gordon said from where he stood watch as Tin-Tin ripped open the wiring panel underneath a control board to re-route the wires in order to release the impound tractor's lock on John's ship. "Let me ask you something."

Tin-Tin didn't take her eyes off her work, but simply said "Go on, Gordon."

"D'you think we're gonna make it out of here alive?" Gordon asked, suddenly taking a step away from Tin-Tin as he pointed his weapon down the runway. "I mean, I wonder if anybody's gotten out alive. Do you think anyone's made it so far?"

"Well, I-" Tin-Tin began, but Gordon carried on.

"You think that all this spirit-wave stuff is really going to work against the Phantoms?" Gordon could now see a number of Phantoms emerging from the smoke that clouded parts of the hangar. "I mean, what if it's all just a bunch of mumbo-jumbo?"

Then, Gordon couldn't wait any longer and opened fire on the nearest Phantoms. "Hey, Tin-Tin. You mind if we stop talking? I have to concentrate now."

Tin-Tin just rolled her eyes as she re-wired the remaining circuits.

"Tin-Tin. Status." Scott's voice came through the headsets.

"Almost there." Tin-Tin replied.

From the control tower, Scott watched as Gordon thinned out the Phantoms, one after another. But for some reason, more and more of them kept coming.

"I want you two out of there, a.s.a.p.!" Scott snapped.

"We're fine, Sir," Tin-Tin said calmly. "Gordon is negotiating with _extreme_ prejudice."

Just then, Tin-Tin clapped her hands together and gave a small cry of triumph as the impound tractor's clamps broke free from the prow of the Black Boa. "Okay, Captain. We are good to go."

Scott breathed a sigh of relief as he went back to the main holo-controls and started to rotate the airtray again. Then, they could collect Virgil and get out of the dying Philadelphia Barrier City.

Tin-Tin turned to Gordon and smirked, picking up her rifle. "And that's how it's done, Gordon Tracy."

Gordon turned, smiling, about to reply, when suddenly the tentacles of a Phantom came out of the ground, piercing Tin-Tin and she made a slight choking sound of shock.

"Tin-Tin!!!" Gordon's voice echoed throughout the whole hangar.

Tin-Tin looked up at him and their eyes locked for a brief moment before her spirit was yanked out of her body and she dropped to the ground like a broken doll.

In a blind rage, Gordon spun, firing at any of the oncoming Phantoms, his face full of pure hate and disgust for the creatures. He didn't notice the increasing number of tentacles emerging from the ground, the tentacles of a Meta Phantom below him.

Then, his laser rifle clicked on empty.

And it was only then that Gordon realized he was surrounded by the Meta's thick, swaying tentacles.

"Gordon!" Scott's voice shouted through Gordon's headset. "Gordon, get out of there now! Run!"

Gordon ignored his Captain and older brother, still looking at the tentacles that swarmed around him like some monstrous long-grass.

"Gordon. Get back to the ship. Now. You can make it," Scott's voice was persistent, but Gordon could hear the panic and concern just below the Captain's commanding voice. "Gordon. Move out. That's an order! _Gordon_!!"

Gordon switched off his communications headset and dropped his empty laser rifle. An enigmatic smile crept over his face and he took one last look at Tin-Tin's empty body before he closed his eyes and accepted the inevitable.

One of the Meta Phantom's deadly tentacles whipped around him and slashed through his head before he could even react.

The last traces of his blue spirit were pulled from him even as he hit the ground beside Tin-Tin.

Scott's light-blue eyes were full of uncomprehension at what had just happened.

He rested his head on his hands that were pressed against one of the massive windows, still staring down at the lifeless bodies of his two team-mates.

Not just team-mates.

Friends.

Family.

This was a military situation and he had been fully responsible for them.

Scott then noticed that the Meta Phantom had come right out of the ground and was inching closer and closer to the Black Boa as it rotated towards the start of the runway.

There was still something he could do about that.

Slamming his fist on the window with anger and frustration at the Meta Phantom which had killed Tin-Tin and Gordon, Scott pushed himself away from the window and ran towards the main holo-controls.

Looking down at the panel, he typed in a command and punched the button that triggered the Black Boa's autopilot for lift-off and insertion into orbit.

He and the Deep Eyes Squadron were not going to make it out alive, but at least John, Brains and Sir Jeremy would.

Scott took a step back and swung up his laser rifle, firing four shots at the window to weaken the glass before running and leaping through it. He landed on a ledge eight metres below the control room, rolling with the impact and springing to his feet, still holding the laser rifle in his hands.

"Come and get me, you sonofabitch!" Scott shouted at the Meta Phantom, walking up to the edge of the ledge and firing shot after shot into its huge mass, trying to turn it away from the Black Boa. But he could see that it just wasn't working.

****

Chapter Twenty-Two

John Tracy felt his entire body go numb as he, Brains and Sir Jeremy watched from the protected spirit-shielded cargo bay as Tin-Tin and Gordon were cut down by the Meta Phantom.

He couldn't believe what he had just seen. It wasn't possible. Not after everything that Gordon and Tin-Tin had been through.

But it _had_ happened.

It was there on the screen in front of him: Tin-Tin and Gordon lying dead on the hangar floor beside each other.

And what about the others?

Virgil and Scott.

John didn't even know if they were still alive.

Suddenly, through the relay screen, John saw a window in the control tower burst outwards, Scott jumping onto a wide ledge about twenty-five feet above the floor of the hangar. Scott was shouting and firing at something beside the Black Boa that John couldn't really see, He was almost certain that it was the Phantom which had killed Gordon and Tin-Tin.

It took John a few moments to understand what Scott was doing. Then, John realized that his younger brother was trying to save everyone in the ship by drawing the attention of the Meta Phantom.

But they were protected by the ovo-energy shield that they had activated in the cargo bay of the Black Boa. Didn't Scott know that? John was sure he did.

And something else was also happening.

John noticed, via the control panel on the wall, that the autopilot had been set and the countdown had been triggered. As soon as the Black Boa was in position on the runway, it would launch, leaving Scott and Virgil behind.

John couldn't allow that to happen.

He dropped the barrier shield that was up in the cargo bay and ran for the passageway leading up to the ships cockpit.

"Where are you going?" demanded Sir Jeremy, staring after John, who stopped in the passageway to power up the shield again.

"Tin-Tin set the ship on autopilot," John said. "And Scott must've triggered it. We're in a countdown to lift-off."

"And?" asked Sir Jeremy.

"Look. Just stay right there," John said, heading for the cockpit. "No matter what happens, at least one of us has to get the info we have out of here."

"No, John! Wait! It's too dangerous!" Sir Jeremy called after John, but was too late.

John's heart was racing as he made it to the unshielded cockpit of the Black Boa.

As he settled into the pilot's seat, he saw the massive Meta Phantom that Scott was firing at. The Meta Phantom was the largest he'd seen so far; it was so big that part of it extended through the roof of the hangar. It was about twenty metres to the left of the Black Boa, not really seeming to get any distance at the moment. However, any sudden lash of one of its tentacles could easily reach him at any moment.

Then, there was a sudden jolt as the airtray came to a stop, and John found himself looking into the night sky at the end of the runway as the autopilot launch countdown commenced.

John keyed in the on-board communications link with Scott's headset and then studied the Black Boa's control panel.

Two minutes until lift-off.

His fingers flew over the control board, working to lock out the signal from the control tower and take over his ship on manual controls.

"Stop, baby, stop." he whispered urgently.

"What the blazes do you think you're doing, John?" Scott's voice came over the comm-link . John had been so caught in his work that he'd forgotten that he'd turned the Black Boa's comm-link on.

"John!" Scott was shouting now. "Get back to the cargo bay. _Now_!"

John noticed that the Meta Phantom was now slowly moving towards the Black Boa.

From further left, another stream of fire caught John's attention as he worked on deactivating the autopilot function.

John leaned forwards in his seat to get a better look and saw that Virgil was adding the laser cannon's fire-power to Scott's laser rifle as they battled against the Meta Phantom. However, from the looks of things, the heavy weaponry wasn't really making much of a difference.

It was only now that John understood why Scott had been trying to draw the Meta Phantom away, and why he wanted him back in the cargo bay: With the cargo hold shielded, it wouldn't have mattered it the ship flew through any Phantoms on the way out, and they'd be safe.

But if the autopilot launched with him in the cockpit, he would be very dead.

He glanced down at the control panel in front of him and went back to disengaging the autopilot.

It was now that he realized why Scott had made it to Captain: Scott knew what needed to be done and focused on it. To Scott, being a part of the Deep Eyes Squadron was probably like going back to the Top Gun flight school or the U.S.A.F. again. And now, the task at hand was to get as many of them out into orbit in the Black Boa.

Scott had known that, and, sitting in the cockpit of the Black Boa, maybe just moments from death, John understood all of it.

"John! Get back to the cargo bay. _Now_!"

Scott had almost panicked when he saw John in the cockpit of the Black Boa. He couldn't believe his older brother had left the safety of the cargo hold. Yet, there John was. In the cockpit. And totally unprotected if the ship flew through a Meta Phantom such as the one advancing on the Black Boa.

"Hey, Captain," Virgil's pained voice in Scott's headset mad the Captain's heart twist. "Need a hand?"

In the next moment, Scott's laser rifle blasts were joined by the heavy fire-power of Virgil's laser cannon, the heavy shot slamming almost harmlessly into the giant Meta Phantom, although Scott knew that each heavy blast fired by the cannon was costing Virgil badly.

Suddenly, Scott remembered about the stacks of ovo-energy packs that Gordon had found in the hangar. He searched for it and saw it tucked near one ship on the other side of the Meta Phantom.

Perfect.

Scott opened fire on the crates of ovo-packs, only to find that they were too well protected by the case coverings.

Virgil must have seen what he was aiming for and fired the laser cannon at the ovo-pack crates because in the next moment, the crates were obliterated in an almighty explosion.

The blast sent a shudder though the entire hangar, including the Black Boa, still in autopilot countdown, and send Scott ducking for cover from the flying, burning debris. It had also taken out the Meta Phantom, leaving John safe in the cockpit for a while.

But it also had disadvantages too, attracting more smaller Phantoms into the hangar like a mini-invasion.

Scott got up, pushing his hair back from his face, and checked the ovo-energy supply in his laser rifle, dully noting that he had half of the Bio-Etheric energy left in the ovo-pack. Then, he picked his shots carefully, opening fire on anything which got too close to him, Virgil or the Black Boa.

Virgil was firing as well, taking out the larger Phantoms whith skilled and accurate shots from the laser cannon, even though every shot he fired sent a jolt of horrible pain through his body. He had seen both Tin-Tin and Gordon cut down by the same Meta Phantom that he and Scott had just taken out. Now, the last thing that he ever wanted to see happen was to see Scott or the people onboard the Black Boa share the same fate as Gordon and Tin-Tin.

Except for the fact that he was probably closer to death than any of the others.

Scott took out four more Phantoms that were headed for the Black Boa before turning to see another Meta Phantom beginning to rise out of the floor around Virgil, still trapped in the wreck of the Bandit Hummvy. He started shooting at it, desperation mixed with determination on his face as the laser rifle's shots kept hitting the Meta Phantom but not really stopping it.

Back in the wreck of the Bandit, Virgil could tell what his older brother was firing at, the Meta Phantom's orange-red colour from the barrier residuals tinting his skin. He knew that the Captain was doing everything possible to stop the Meta Phantom, but really couldn't turn around to help from the way the wreckage was jammed through him.

The Meta Phantom was beginning to emerge out of the hangar floor around him and Virgil glanced up at his older brother, still firing on the Meta Phantom, absolutely refusing to give up hope.

Same old Scott Tracy determination.

Virgil pushed all of his fears away, his only regret being that he would never really see if anybody would make it out alive from this hangar.

Sergeant Virgil Tracy never saw his executioner as the Meta Phantom rose upwards and tore his spirit from his body.

"No!!!"

Scott screamed in absolute hate as he fired and fired on the Meta Phantom, the hot feeling of oncoming tears stinging his light-blue eyes as he saw the Meta Phantom go through his closest brother.

He managed to kill the Meta Phantom before it had even finished passing over Virgil. But by then, it was already too late.

"Scott! Scott, do you read me?" John's tense voice asked through Scott's headset.

"I know what you're trying to do, John," Scott said, knowing very well that John had gone to the cockpit to disable the autopilot. "But you can forget about it. Head back to the cargo bay where it's safe."

"No," John's voice was firm. "We're not leaving without you guys."

"Everybody else is dead." Scott's voice sounded hollow as he stared at Virgil's body. He never really wanted to hear those words again. Not since the Phantoms had killed everybody back on Tracy Island.

"Scott. I won't leave without you." John said.

"You don't have a choice," Scott said softly, hearing the Black Boa's primary engines firing. "Goodbye, John."

Another Meta Phantom came out of the ground, heading towards both Scott and the Black Boa, its whip-like tentacles waving in the air.

Scott ignored the oncoming threat as he watched the Black Boa, his only chance of escape, take-off down the runway and head for the night skies, disappearing from view, the autopilot taking John and the others to a safe orbit around the Earth.

He knew he had done the right thing.

But it had cost him the lives of three good people.

As the Meta Phantom moved slowly towards him, Scott switched off his communications headset and tossed it to the floor.

Then, knowing very well that he didn't have enough Bio-Etheric energy in his laser rifle's ovo-pack to defeat the approaching Meta Phantom, Scott brought up his weapon anyway and fired at it.

He was a military Captain and probably knew no other way out of such a situation than by taking his last stand and fighting until it was all over.

****

Chapter Twenty-Three

The Meta Phantom just kept coming.

Captain Scott Tracy fought on relentlessly, keeping a steady stream of shots from his laser rifle hitting the Meta Phantom.

Around him were the bodies of the three other members of the once-elite Deep Eyes Squadron, all who had been under his charge.

And now they were gone.

Lost forever.

Dead. Just like the city around him would be in a couple of hours.

What had gone wrong?

Scott still couldn't quite figure it out, not that it really mattered to him as his laser rifle clicked on empty.

And the Meta Phantom was still coming at him.

Staring at it with a defiant look in his light-blue eyes, Scott lowered the empty laser rifle, dropping it to the ground, bracing himself for the moment when the giant Meta Phantom would pass through him, taking away his life just was the other Meta Phantoms had done to Virgil, Gordon and Tin-Tin.

"Captain! Jump on!" John's voice was amplified through the loudhailer of the Black Boa as it flew back into the military hangar.

Scott turned to the far end of the control tower's ledge to see the Black Boa hovering there, the main ramp to the cargo bay open.

After the Black Boa had taken to the skies, John had finally managed to override the autopilot system that Tin-Tin had set up.

Now, John was in the Black Boa's cockpit, trying to keep the ship stable as he lowered the cargo bay hatch, cringing as the hull of the craft scraped against the edge of the control tower. The Black Boa wasn't designed with a hover mode for small spaces, and the reflected thrust of its hovering engines in such a confined space was causing turbulence upon the ship.

Scott took one last look back at the three bodies of his lost team-mates –his gaze lingering slightly on Virgil – and then at the Meta Phantom that was about fifty metres away from him and closing in. Then, he turned and ran towards the open ramp of the Black Boa where Brains and Sir Jeremy were waiting in the cargo bay, as John struggled to hold the ship's position.

John saw the Captain hesitate for a moment, before turning and running for the ship, the Meta Phantom right behind him.

It was going to be a close one.

Although nothing new to the Deep Eyes Captain.

John couldn't see the Captain anymore from the angle of the Black Boa's position. He would have to rely on Brains and Sir Jeremy to let him know what was going on.

That was before the echo-thrust of the Black Boa's hovering engines started to push the ship slowly away from the control tower's ledge.

The situation was not looking good.

Scott knew the Meta Phantom was closing in as it moved in for the kill behind him.

He also saw the widening gap between the ledge and the Black Boa's ramp.

Then, he pushed all other thoughts from his mind as he leapt off the ledge, the Meta Phantom right behind him, and hoped he could reach the cargo bay ramp.

Otherwise, it would be a thirty-five foot drop to the Phantoms below.

John Tracy's heart was pounding uncontrollably, the sweat trickling down his face as he struggled to maintain the Black Boa's position. The thrust of the ship's hovering engines were too powerful in such a confined space. As a result, the Black Boa was being involuntary pushed away from the ledge, widening the gap that Scott would have to jump across to get onboard the ship.

In his hindsight, John could see the Meta Phantom closing in fast.

"Not good," John muttered under his breath. "This is _so _not good."

He glanced ahead of the ship, checking that their path was still clear, feeling a little happier that the Phantoms in front were small and wouldn't be able to come anywhere near his craft. At least their escape route was okay.

Another look to the side window in the large cockpit and John saw that the Meta Phantom looked almost ready to pass through the back of the Black Boa.

Where the cargo bay was.

Where Brains, Sir Jeremy and possibly Scott were.

John couldn't wait any longer and slowly moved the Black Boa forwards.

"Hang on, everyone!" John warned into the comm-link as the ship headed slowly down the runway.

"Is everyone onboard?" John asked, pausing the ship halfway across the runway. The Meta Phantom was still coming at them and he'd have to launch now to make an effective escape.

But was Scott alright?

Scott Tracy had managed to grab onto the edge of the Black Boa's cargo bay ramp with one hand.

Now he was hanging precariously onto the edge of the ramp, knowing very well that the Phantoms below were just waiting for the moment that he might lose his grip. It was only then, when he gazed down at the Phantoms on the floor of the hangar, did he realize that the Black Boa was actually moving towards the end of the runway.

"Glad to see you too, Captain." Sir Jeremy's voice made Scott look back up at where the scientist was offering him a hand.

Scott brought his other hand up and grabbed onto Sir Jeremy's outstretched hand, allowing himself to be pulled up to safety.

"Is everyone onboard?" John's concerned voice came from the cargo bay's comm-link.

"Y-Yes, John," Brains answered. "The Captain's here with us and we're just sealing the cargo bay –er- hatch. W-We'll be –ah- ready for take-off in a moment.

"Right." John's voice sounded relieved.

Half a minute later and the Black Boa had cleared the hangar, taking to the safety of Earth's orbit, leaving behind the smouldering remains of the broken Philadelphia Barrier.

Also left behind were three members of the Deep Eyes Squadron, who had given their lives for John, Brains, Sir Jeremy and Scott to live.

****

Chapter Twenty-Four

It wasn't long before the Black Boa had reached the safety of Earth's orbit, the engines automatically shutting down, leaving its passengers in the comfort of zero gravity.

Conversation in the cargo bay was minimum, hardly anybody spoke.

Brains and Sir Jeremy were silently checking the equipment stored in the cargo bay of the Black Boa.

Scot, who hadn't spoken since boarding the ship, was gazing out of a small viewing port, looking at the Earth. Everything looked so normal from the safety of space, but Scott knew very well that wasn't the case at all.

Three of his team-mates, his own family, were dead, their bodies left to rot on a hangar floor in an utterly destroyed Barrier City. Sergeant Virgil Tracy and Corporals Gordon Tracy and Tin-Tin Kyrano had given their lives to save John, Brains, Sir Jeremy and himself.

All of them would not be forgotten.

A couple of minutes later and John floated into the cargo bay. He looked at Brains and Sir Jeremy, and gestured discretely in Scott's direction, the Captain's back to them.

Both Sir Jeremy and Brains looked at John, sympathy in their eyes since John had also just lost three of his family members back at the hangar, before they floated themselves out of the cargo bay, leaving the two brothers alone.

John was just floating over to his younger brother's side when Scott spoke.

"I want to thank you for saving my life back there, John." Scott was still looking out of the viewing port.

John looked at him. "I'm sure you would have done the same thing for me, Scott," John gently put a hand on Scott's tense shoulder. "They were great soldiers."

"Great people as well," Scott added, his voice hollow. "They'd been through too much to die such a cruel death. None of them deserved to die like that."

"Nobody does," John said, looking away. "Countless people lost their lives tonight."

"But it shouldn't have been _them_, John! It shouldn't have been _my_ team," Scott shook his head fiercely with denial. "I still can't figure out what went wrong apart from my bad planning and assessment of the situation."

"Scott. It wasn't your fault-"

"They were under _my_ command, John. _I _was responsible for them the whole time. They were following _my _orders." Scott turned to look at John, his light-blue eyes a firestorm of frustration and sadness.

And defeat.

John looked at his brother, realizing just how right Tin-Tin was when she had said the Captain had changed so significantly since John had last seen him.

"How the hell did I even make Captain status?" Scott questioned himself, turning away again.

"You did al you could, Scott-"

"But it wasn't enough, John! I couldn't save them. Not even one of them," Scott rested his head against the viewing port. "It's all my fault."

John decided that talking about what happened was not a good idea. The grief was too much for them to talk about Virgil, Gordon and Tin-Tin so soon after what had happened.

John put a comforting arm around Scott's muscular shoulder. "I'm sorry, Scott. I really am."

Scott didn't say anything this time. Instead, he rested his head on his older brother's shoulder and closed his eyes.

After everybody on Tracy Island had been killed, Scott had made a promise to himself that he would never lose any of his family again. Becoming the Captain of the Deep Eyes Squadron was the best way he thought he could keep an eyes on Virgil, Gordon and Tin-Tin whilst still helping out in the Barrier.

And it was.

Until tonight.

There was a moment of silence in the cargo bay before Scott looked up at John, the command and authority stripped from his face, only to be replaced by a look of loss.

"I don't really believe in Gaia, John," Scott said quietly. "But I do wish I could believe that they were all in a better place."

John tried to smile compassionately and yet sound reassuring as he replied "Maybe Brains, Sir Jeremy and I can prove it to you someday."

"I hope so." Scott tried to force a smile but John saw the glistening sign of tears in his light-blue eyes.

"Me too, Scotty." John whispered, holding his younger brother tight as Scott buried his face in his older brother's shoulder, the shimmering tears beginning to fall. John patted the back of Scott's head in sympathy and closed his eyes, letting the cool silence comfort the both of them as they floated in the middle of the cargo bay.

General Belah Gaat had ordered for the military shuttle to maintain a safe orbit around the Earth until he had given any further orders.

That had been over two and a half hours ago.

He was still sitting at his desk, secured in his chair so that he would not float away in the zero gravity that all of the shuttle members were now subjected to.

On his desk was a small screen that displayed detailed satellite images of what had recently been the Philadelphia Barrier City.

Some hours ago, the Barrier City had been teeming with life and filled with millions of people.

Now, all that was left of Philadelphia Barrier City were two dozen raging fires, spreading thoughout the vast city like wildfire, and the empty, spiritless bodies of those people who hadn't escaped the Phantoms.

He had killed those countless people down in the ruined city.

General Gaat studied the screen with an impassive face for a few moments longer before he turned off the screen and leaned back in his chair, sighing heavily. He reached for his M92F Beretta in his holster, studying it like an old friend as he brought it up in front of him, making sure that there was a loaded clip inside it and snapping off the safety catch.

His plan to take control of the Barrier City had backfired with devastating consequences. As a result, millions of people had suffered. He had caused countless deaths in only a matter of hours. And for that, he no longer deserved to live.

General Gaat put the cold, hard metal of the Beretta's barrel against his temple, before he changed his mind and put the barrel of the gun in his mouth, where there was less of a chance of him missing.

He sighed and closed his eyes, the image of Major Tobolsk dying in front of him entering his mind.

Major Tobolsk had been a decent soldier and a good man from the start. He had been loyal since the beginning and hadn't deserved to die like that.

None of his men deserved to die like that.

General Gaat went to pull the trigger of the Beretta.

His body tensed, but his finger didn't move on the trigger.

The General tried again but he just couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger.

Finally, he pulled the gun from his mouth and holstered it again, disgusted with himself.

He had slaughtered millions of people, and yet he was too much of a coward to take his own life away.

But it had suddenly felt wrong to him to do so, as if there was something else he could do besides taking his own life. But what was it?

Then, General Gaat though back to the scene in the Barrier Generator Facility, when the Serpent-Phantom had massacred everybody in the room.

Everybody except him.

The he knew what he had to do.

The Phantoms had been the true cause of all the carnage and deaths that had happened. General Gaat hadn't killed anybody directly. All he did was let the Phantoms into the Barrier City, but everybody who knew that was dead, and the Phantoms would have gotten into the city at some point anyway.

It was the Phantoms who had killed every one of those people, not him. They would kill many more if he didn't stop them. And he had the ultimate weapon to eradicate them from the planet.

General Gaat tapped the comm-link on his desk.

"Yes, Sir?" the pilot of the military shuttle responded almost immediately.

"How long until we reach the Zeus Cannon Station?" asked General Gaat.

"Ninety minutes, Sir." The pilot replied.

"Set a course for it and get us there as fast as you can." General Gaat ordered.

"Yes, Sir."

General Gaat switched off the comm-link and leaned back in his chair, a smile playing over his face. This was the chance he had been waiting to take for a long time.

****

Chapter Twenty-Five

John Tracy found Sir Jeremy and Brains in the laboratory area of the Black Boa, where the two scientists were already working on finding the eighth spirit. They were so pulled into their work that they didn't seem to notice John float in until he was half-floating, half-standing in between them.

"A-Are you alright, John?" Brains looked at John, concern in the blue eyes behind the thick glasses.

John nodded and forced a smile. "Yeah. I'm okay."

"How's your brother?" asked Sir Jeremy, flicking on the holo-images of both the Phantom spirit wave and the anti-Phantom wave of the seven spirits which that had collected.

"He's taken it pretty hard," John's smile faded as he recalled the conversation that he and Scott had back in the cargo bay. "He won't stop blaming himself over what's happened."

"That will be something that only time will be able to heal, John." Sir Jeremy said.

"Yeah. I guess so." John nodded slowly. He had kept watch over his younger brother for a while as Scott had drifted off into an uneasy sleep in the Black Boa's lounge, before he had made his way back to the laboratory. The almost child-like look of loss, defeat and sadness on Scott's face was still floating in John's mind, almost haunting him.

John brought his attention back to the two holo-images of the two spirit waves as Sir Jeremy overlapped the holograms over each other. The waves cancelled each other out, leaving one single wave remaining.

The eighth spirit.

All they needed was one more.

"I've commenced the –er- search pattern," Brains announced. "This time I-I've included all the areas that we had previously overlooked. Just to be o-on the safe side. And after what happened at the –er- Barrier City, we have to take our c-chances now or who knows what may happen next."

"But won't expanding the search parameters make looking for the eighth spirit more complicated and time-consuming?" asked John.

"N-Normally, it would," replied Brains. "But we have such a precise –er- reading on what the last spirit is shaped like that we can I-increase the search grid."

"If you say so," shrugged John. "So, how long do you think-"

John stopped as a beeping sound filled the Black Boa's laboratory. The sound was so sudden and so unexpected that John spun around sharply and lost his grip on a laboratory table and floated up towards the ceiling.

Both Sir Jeremy and Brains seemed surprised as well.

The signal was indicating that they had found the eighth and final spirit.

John pushed himself away from the laboratory ceiling and back beside Sir Jeremy and Brains, still trying to get over the shock of finding the eighth spirit so soon.

"We found it." John whispered, needing to hear the words in order to believe them.

"Found what?" asked Scott as he floated into the laboratory, his voice clearly startling everybody. "Sorry," Scott gave a lop-sided attempt at a smile. "Didn't mean to scare all of you."

"The only thing that scares me at the moment, Captain, are your manners," John tried to joke, blowing out a breath as his heart resumed its normal pace. "Didn't anyone teach you to knock before entering a room?"

"Oops," Scott shrugged and smiled sweetly. "So, what have you found then?"

"The eighth spirit," John said, his voice still in awe. "We finally found it."

"Where?" asked Scott.

"I thought you were alseep." John glanced briefly at his younger brother before checking the location of the eighth spirit, gradually zooming in on it.

"I was asleep. Your little 'spirit alarm' woke me up," Scott replied. "Not that I was sleeping well in the first place."

"This can't be right." John frowned at the location of the eighth spirit, his stomach twisting into a tight knot.

The eighth spirit was located in the Leonid Meteor Crater, the nest of the Phantoms.

Scott peered over his older brother's shoulder and gave a short albeit nervous laugh. "You're joking, right?"

"Well, I-I do admit that it's a strange place to find the –er- eighth spirit." Brains commented.

"Yes," nodded Sir Jeremy. "I must agree that it's really quite an astonishing occurance."

John double-checked the co-ordinates of the location of the eighth spirit again but the whereabouts of the final spirit remained the same. There was no doubt about it that the spirit they needed was in the Leonid Meteor Crater.

"I don't get it," frowned Scott. "Nothing could survive down there in the crater apart from Phantoms."

"And?" asked Sir Jeremy.

"And I'm lost too." John was also frowning.

"Well, boys. The answer is simple," said Sir Jeremy. "What we have here is clear information that the eighth spirit is indeed a Phantom spirit."

"But how can a Phantom spirit play a key role in saving me from a Phantom infestation?" John looked totally confused.

"Well, I don't think we can explain why just yet, but I'm sure all will become clear to us when we get down to the crater and take a closer look at the final spirit." Sir Jeremy said.

"Woah! Hold it a second," Scott held up his hands. "That's a one-way trip you're talking about."

Sir Jeremy merely smiled and said "I expected that would be how you would evaluate the situation, Captain."

"So, am I wrong?" Scott asked, uncertainty in his voice, although a hint of authority had returned to it.

"Well, Sir Jeremy? Brains?" John looked at the two scientists, his friends. "Is it a one-way trip?"

There was a pause of silence in the room for a moment.

"I-I'm afraid it may just be," Brains broke the silence. "We probably won't survive long enough to successfully extract the eighth spirit completely from the –er- crater."

"So why should we even try it?" asked Scott.

"Because we don't need to _extract_ the eighth spirit from the crater." Sir Jeremy replied.

"I got it now." John said as Brains and Sir Jeremy's idea began to dawn on him.

"Hello? I'm still here, y'know. Anybody want to clue me in on what's going on here?" Scott asked and John could tell that Scott's patience was clearly being tested to its limits.

"Basically, if we can't bring the eighth spirit here," John pointed around the room. "Then, we go to the crater and complete the anti-Phantom wave there."

"Exactly." Sir Jeremy nodded in agreement.

"Okay then. So, how do you plan to carry this out? Exactly?" Scott looked skeptically at everyone in the room.

"I can c-construct a device that would attach to John's chest-plate and gather the –er- eight spirits together…" Brains said, but his sentence sounded incomplete.

"And then what?" questioned Scott.

John looked at his younger brother's puzzled face and then back at Sir Jeremy and Brains. He had no idea what would happen as soon as the eight spirits were combined and he came into contact with a Phantom wave. He also doubted that Sir Jeremy and Brains knew either. They both had their theories, but it was nothing more than that since they had never managed to obtain all eight of the anti-waves to run tests with.

Until now.

Sir Jeremy looked at the Captain and shrugged. "And then, I guess we just wait and see what happens."

"You're kidding, right?" Scott asked, a little taken back.

Sir Jeremy and Brains just looked at him.

Scott looked at them for a moment before he let out a short, incredulous laugh. "Oh that's just hunky-dory then," he shook his head unbelievably. "Well, I've got a better plan. How about we just keep scanning the surface of the Earth from the safe and cozy orbit that we're at now, and maybe we'll find a compatible spirit somewhere else."

John looked at Scott, and then at Sir Jeremy and Brains, before he decided that he knew what had to be done.

Scott recognized the look on John's face and he groaned inwardly.

"Johnny, tell me you're not thinking of going through with this," Scott sighed wearily. "Please?"

John looked at everyone in the room, his mind already made up. "I say we go in."

"I was afraid you were gonna say that." Scott shook his head.

John smiled at him.

"Well then," Scott said finally. "If you people are so persistent on going on what I think is a suicidal mission, then at least let me try to figure out a way to get us out."

"Sounds fine to me," said John. "Although our time is short."

"How long until you two are ready?" Scott asked Brains and Sir Jeremy.

"Four hours." Sir Jeremy replied.

"Fine. Then I'll be ready at the end of my four hours as well." Scott said confidently.

John watched as his younger brother floated back out of the laboratory and down the hallway.

Sir Jeremy patted John's shoulder lightly.

"Don't worry, John," Sir Jeremy said. "If anybody can get us out of that crater alive, it's your brother. The Captain has managed some amazing things so far, and that's not just in the Deep Eyes Squadron."

"Yeah," John said quietly. "I just hope Scotty can pull off one more miracle for us."

John honestly didn't think any of them would make it out alive. But, if things worked out the way he, Brains and Sir Jeremy hoped they would, their four lives would be the last four lives ever to be taken by a Phantom.

And that was something to die for.


	4. Part 4 - All life is born of Gaia...

"Final Rescue: The Crossover Within" – Part Four

****

Note: The events in this fic are totally independent to the timeline in my other fics, mainly because this is a one-off.  The ages of the brothers are still the same as my fics: John being the eldest, followed by Scott, Virgil, Gordon and Alan.

                The original Final Fantasy story belongs to Hironobu Sakaguchi and Square Pictures, not me.  Most of the characters used instead are based on those created by Gerry Anderson.  Additional characters from this story are just a figment of my wild imagination. Please do not copy or use without my permission.

                My thanks go to my Final Fantasy and Thunderbirds posses (you all know who you are), as well as Natalie (you're a star!) and my best mate Hemma (For embarrassing me whilst watching FF:TSW in the cinema!).

If you have any queries or feedback, don't hesitate to contact me at  ** jojo_tracy@hotmail.com or aki_leonhart@hotmail.com**

Alternatively, check out my sites at http://communities.msn.co.uk/Thunderbir1sHangar  (for Thunderbirds) or

http://communities.msn.co.uk/RPDAllSTARS  (for Resident Evil and Final Fantasy)

Anyway, that's my little bit done now. See ya!

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

            The main control room in the Zeus Cannon Station was huge.  There were at least a dozen work-stations in the room, all of them manned except for the main one.

            Major Conrad Turner, an ex-S.P.E.C.T.R.U.M. agent, was the man in charge of the Zeus Cannon when General Gaat wasn't present.  Now, he was floating in a standing position on one side of the main control station, saluting, along with everyone else in the control room, as General Gaat entered the room.

            "Return to your posts, men." General Gaat snapped off a salute and floated to site down in the command chair at the main systems.

            "Glad to see that you made it safely out of Philadelphia, Sir." Major Tobolsk said.

            "Glad to have made it out alive, Major." General Gaat said, keying in a command to link him with the Council, whom he had arranged, en-route, to speak with.

            A holo-image sprang to life in front of him, showing all eight of the Council members, who had evacuated to the safety of the New York Barrier City, the largest Barrier City in the world.

            "What caused the Philadelphia barrier to fail, General?" Councilman Steve Zodiac demanded with no words or gestures of greeting.

            General Gaat was prepared for such an interrogation.

            "I was afraid that it was only a matter of time before the Phantoms developed an immunity to our protective barriers," General Gaat shook his head in sadness.  "When the Phantoms first breached the Barrier City, I saw some of them travelling through the ovo-energy pipes that were leading from the main Generator Facility."

            The Council members looked at each other in stunned silence, and General Gaat knew what they were thinking:  If the Philadelphia Barrier could fall to such an attack, so could any other Barrier City in the world.  The human race could be made extinct.

            It was exactly what General Gaat wanted them to think.

            "I am relieved to see that you, Councilman Zodiac, and the rest of the Council were able to make it safely to New York Barrier City." General Gaat said, breaking the silence.

            "Thank you, General," Councilman Zodiac said.  "It was a terrible loss that we suffered last evening in Philadelphia."

            Genera; Gaat nodded slowly, knowing that it would be better if he didn't speak.

            Councilman Zodiac cleared his throat, looking clearly uncomfortable with what he had to say next.  "General Belah Gaat.  The Council has reconsidered your proposal to fire the Zeus Cannon."

            It took all of General Gaat's will to contain the rush of emotions within himself as he softly said "I see."

            "We are transmitting the access codes to the Zeus Station now." Councilman Troy Tempest said, turning and nodding to someone beyond the holo-screen.

            A moment later and the access codes flashed on one of the main system screens in front of General Gaat.  He entered the codes and verified his security level, opening access to fire the Zeus Cannon.

            "I have the codes and I'm in." General Gaat announced, still keeping his face deadpan.

            "Well then," Councilman Steve Zodiac looked and sounded suddenly tired.  "Best of luck to all of us then, General."

            The Council ended the transmission.

            General Gaat was overjoyed with the sudden turn of events.  His plan had worked.  Maybe not in the best way, but it had worked nonetheless.

            Now, the time had come to rid Earth of the Phantoms once and for all.

            He turned to Major Turner with a smile upon his face.  "Major.  Prepare to fire the Zeus Cannon."

            "Yes, Sir!" Major Turner snapped off a salute, smiling broardly.  He turned to the crew of the Zeus Cannon Station, all of them also smiling.  This was the day that all of them had been waiting for.

            "Prepare to fire the Zeus Cannon." Major Turner ordered.

            "The target, Sir?" asked one of the soldiers.

            "The Leonid Meteor Crater," replied General Gaat.  "We'll strike the Phantoms in their home."

            "Yes, Sir!" the soldier acknowledged.

            An image of the Leonid Meteor Crater appeared on the huge screen in the front of the main control room.  Soon, it would be a matter of time before the Earth would be cleansed of all Phantoms.

            The crater of the Leonid Meteor was massive, a huge scar in the Earth.

            John Tracy levelled the Black Boa out over the Phantom crater, gazing down at part of the remains of the meteor that stuck out one hundred metres up out of the barren, dusty ground.  He was now absolutely certain that the meteor which he was staring at, the Leonid Meteor, was the same hunk of the alien planet that he had seen being blasted into deep space in his dream.

            "Is this level okay?" John enquired into the comm-link.

            "Yeah," Scott's voice replied.  "Let's not get _too_ close for comfort now."

            "Right."  John set the controls on the Black Boa to keep his ship hovering in a fixed place for as long as they needed it to.  Then, he got out of the pilot's seat and headed for the laboratory, his gaze lingering for a moment on an old photo of his four brothers and himself, taken a month before the start of International Rescue.

            Entering the laboratory, John saw Sir Jeremy and Brains studying the Phantoms in the crater.

"There are so many spirits in the crater." Sir Jeremy looked at John, his voice sounding both in awe and a little concerned.

            "You have no idea how much I didn't want to hear that," John half-joked.  "Just as long as you guys find the right spirit, I'll be happy."

            John patted the two scientists' shoulders and headed down towards the cargo bay where Captain Scott Tracy, his younger brother, was making some last-minute adjustments on the Quatro.

            They had all agreed on using the Quatro as a type of safe place for Scott and John to stay inside as they were lowered into the Leonid Crater to get to the eighth and final spirit.  Both Brains and Scott had been convinced that the Quatro's spiritual shield would protect the two brothers for a good few hours before new ovo-packs would be required to power the shield again.

            As John entered the cargo bay, he could see the modified Quatro come into view.  He smiled to himself when he saw that the Captain had stocked the Quatro with the only three weapons that John had on the ship.  Scott, being the militant type, had told John earlier on that he wouldn't be walking into the enemy camp without being armed.

            "All set, John?" Scott asked as he appeared from around the side of the Quatro.

            "As ready as I'll ever be, Captain." John replied.

            "You know, we could always find another way to get that last spirit." Scott said, his voice almost weary, and John just noticed how tired the Captain looked.

            "This is the best way.  Trust me." John said, feeling a little worn out too.  The two of them had gone with very little sleep or rest over almost the last two days.  But John knew that if the four of them could just get out of this alive, everybody would be sleeping a little more soundly over the world after the Phantoms had left.

            Scott notioned for John to get inside the Quatro first before he followed, securing the entrance hatch behind him.  The Quatro was big enough for both of them to sit beside each other, the front half of the vehicle a huge transparent semi-sphere of a window that they could look out of as well as above and below themselves.  Following the shape of the spherical Quatro were all of the equipment and sensors, all currently online.

            "M-Maintaining our position," Brains' voice spoke over the two brothers' headsets from where the scientist was on standby in the cockpit of the Black Boa.  "Good luck."

            "Thanks, Brains," John smiled as he typed in a command in the cockpit of the Black Boa.  "Powering the shield."

            The spiritual shield was activated, protecting the outside of the Quatro, giving everything the two brothers could see a light, swirling, golden tint, including themselves within the shield.

            "Starting descent." Scott announced.

            The Quatro rocked slightly as the Black Boa's winch mechanism picked it up and moved it out and over the open cargo bay hatch.  The idea was to send the Quatro down on the end of four cables.  At first, John had been worried that cables of those lengths wouldn't be strong enough to hold the Quatro should anything happen.  At John's concerns, Scott had laughed and told him that the sturdy cables were more likely to pull the Black Boa out of the sky before any of them would break, and the though of that had unnerved John even more.

            Steadily, the Quatro was slowly lowered into the Leonid Meteor Crater, stopping halfway between the meteor tip and the Black Boa.  Already, the vehicle's scanners were picking up signs of Phantoms.

            Looking down at the massive crater below, John could see nothing but the twisted rock tip of the Leonid Meteor, sticking out of the ruined ground.  However, he knew that there were thousands, perhaps millions of Phantoms moving around the crater, invisible to the naked eye.

            "Sir Jeremy," Scott spoke into his headset.  "Do you have a lock on our target?"

            "You sound like you're going into battle, Scotty." John said lightly.

            "Yeah well to me, this _is_ a war, John," Scott's voice had a cold, hard edge to it.  "It's been one ever since those spirit-taking bastards arrived on this planet."

            "There are so many of them." Sir Jeremy's voice breathed over their headsets.

            "An I _so_ didn't need to hear that." Scott muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear.

            "Wait!" Sir Jeremy's voice was sudden, making both the brothers jump in surprise.  "I'm tracking the eighth spirit.  It's moving along the surface of the crater."

            On the scanner in front of John, the highlighted eighth spirit could be seen moving along the ground towards them.

            "Let's do this, Captain." John said in a determined voice.

            Scott nodded and set the Quatro to descend further down into the unknown.

Chapter Twenty-Seven 

            General Belah Gaat sat in the command chair with a sinister smile on his face.  On the main screen in front of the main control room was the image of the Leonid Meteor Crater, home of the Phantoms.  It was only a matter of minutes now before they would be wiped from the face of the Earth like chalk from a slate.

            "Ready to fire in three minutes." Major Conrad Turner announced as he stood beside the General's command chair.

            "Ovo-packs are at maximum," reported one of the soldiers.  "Transferring the plasma flow to auto."

            "Counter-thrusters are engaged." announced another soldier.

            General Gaat leaned forward in his seat to check this.  The counter-thrusters were vital.  If they weren't activated, when the Zeus Cannon fired, the entire station could be pushed out of orbit by the force of the cannon's fire-power.

            "Lox flow is green." said another soldier.

            Major Conrad Turner exchanged a smile with General Gaat.

            They were all set to go when suddenly, an alarm sounded in the large control room.

            "We have a ship over the impact area, Sir." one of the soldiers informed.

            "What?" General Gaat's face was surprised for a moment before it resumed its normal, steely look as he brought up the information on the main screen.

            The Black Boa appeared on the screen, a Quatro suspended from under it by cables.

            "Turn off that alarm." General Gaat ordered, his black eyes cold and merciless as the sound of the alarm ceased.

            John Tracy had somehow managed to escape both the prison cells _and_ the destruction of the Philadelphia Barrier.  But this time, General Gaat would make sure John would die with the Phantoms he had grown so attached to.  It would be a fitting end.

            "One minute to firing." Major Turner said.

            "What about the ship, Sir?" asked a soldier.  "Do you want us to warn them off?"

            "No.  We will fire as planned." General Gaat replied.

            "Sir?" Major Turner looked questioningly at his superior.

            "That ship is a traitor's ship, under the influence of the enemy.  I'm familiar with it," General Gaat said.  "Continue the countdown.  We can take them all out at once."

            "Yes, Sir." Major turner nodded.

            General Gaat leaned back in his seat, never taking his eyes from the image of the Black Boa.  He was going to enjoy this.

            "Target is locked," Major Turner said.  "We are ready to fire on your order, General."

            General Gaat smiled cruelly, savouring the moment he would take revenge.  His chilling black eyes were still locked on the Black Boa when he finally gave the order.

            "Fire!"

            "We've found it alright," Sir Jeremy's elated voice said over the two brothers' headsets.  "It's a perfect match."

            John Tracy glanced at his younger brother, unable to keep the wide smile from his face.  This was finally it.  The eighth spirit had been found.  Now all they had to do was get hold of it.

            He looked back at the scanner, tracking it as it moved along the crater's surface.  It was heading in their direction and couldn't be more than about fifty metres away from them.

            Suddenly, there was a flash of blinding white light.

            John instinctively shielded his blue-grey eyes with his arm, feeling the Quatro shake vigorously as it was knocked sideways by a huge, unseen force, the impact throwing him to the floor and winding him.

            The sudden burst lasted for no more than a few seconds before it stopped.

            "You okay?" Scott, who had managed to brace himself against the impact, helped his older brother to his feet.

            "I think so." John said, getting back into his seat and rubbing his shoulder where it had hit part of a console.  He had a strong feeling that, if he lived through all of this, he was going to be very sore the next day.

            "What happened?" John asked, looking down at the Leonid Crater.

            The tip of the Leonid Meteor had been pushed further into the hard ground, opening up large fissures.

            Captain Scott Tracy glanced upwards above them.

            "It's the Zeus Cannon!" there was a hint of alarm and surprise in Scott's brash voice.  "They're firing at the crater!"

            "What?!" John was stunned.  "Didn't they see us down here?"

            "Well, if it's anyone like General Gaat at the controls of that thing, I don't think that they'd care." Scott frowned.

            "John?" Sir Jeremy's voice sounded concerned.  "Captain?  Are you two alright?"

            "A little shaken, but still in one piece." John said.

            "A little pissed off too," Scott chipped in.  "Standing by."

            That was when John realized that there was nothing registering on his scanner.  The Phantoms on the surface of the crater were gone.  And so was the eighth spirit.  Maybe they had burrowed deeper into the ground.

            Sir Jeremy," John spoke into his headset.  "Can you still track the eighth spirit?"

            There was a long minutes pause of silence from Sir Jeremy's end in the Black Boa's laboratory before the scientist spoke, his voice quiet and suddenly sounding tired.  "The eighth spirit has been destroyed."

            John looked back out at the Leonid Crater around him in a stunned silence as he absorbed what Sir Jeremy had just said.

            They had been so close to the final anti-wave spirit.  It had been within fifty metres of his reach.

            Now it was dead.

            Gone forever.

            "What are we going to do now?" John asked, his voice a dismal whisper.

            "Nothing," Scott shook his head.  "This mission is over.  We have to get out of here."

            Scott glanced at the crater floor and his jaw tightened.  The Zeus Cannon used Bio-Etheric energy to wipe out the Phantoms, but somehow this caused more of them to swarm up out of the ground and the Leonid Meteor.  The only difference now was that the Phantoms were visible, probably due to the residuals left by the blast of the cannon.

            John looked at the Phantoms below, then at his younger brother, and was just about to speak when Brains' voice shouted a warning in their headsets.

            "Incoming!"

            General Gaat scowled when he realized that both the Black Boa and the Quatro hanging from it had somehow survived the first shot of the Zeus Cannon.  The ship had been off-centre just enough to escape the main force of the Zeus Cannon.

            "One minute and ten seconds to second firing," Major Turner informed.  "All systems are go.  Awaiting your permission to continue."

            "Target the Leonid Meteor directly and fire when ready," General Gaat ordered.  "Those Phantoms are somewhere under that big rock.  Let's dig them out."

            "Yes, Sir," Major Turner nodded before barking out an order.  "Target the Leonid Meteor."

            "Targeting, Sir." a soldier replied.

            A few moment later and there was a slight jolt of the Zeus Cannon Station as the next shot headed for Earth.

            "Incoming!"

            At Brains' warning, Captain Scott Tracy moved like lightning, pulling John down to the deck where they could brace themselves against each other and the equipment on the Quatro before the blast hit.

            Like before, everything lit up in a blinding white light, and Scott was sure that they were headed for another pounding.

            He wasn't disappointed.

            The blast of the second shot from the Zeus Cannon slammed the Quatro into the Leonid Crater wall, spinning the machine and throwing the two brothers about.  Scott felt the skin over his leg tear open against part of the Quatro's machinery, the blood trickling down his leg.

            The Quatro swung over the huge crater, heading back towards the giant tip of the Leonid Meteor.

            Scott quickly scrambled back into his seat, strapping himself in as he activated the Quatro's modified thrusters in an attempt to stabilize the machine.  They were just about to smash into the tip of the Leonid Meteor when the Quatro's movements slowed and it alleviated itself.

            John sat heavily back into his seat, blowing out a breath as he also strapped himself in.  He was rubbing his left arm.

            "Are you okay, Johnny?" Scott looked concerned,.

            "Fine," John replied.  "Just a small bash.  Although if you're going to get us out of here, now would be a good time."

            "Nuff said." Scott snorted, giving a quick check to see if his leg was broken before turning back to the controls.  So far, he'd been lucky not to break any bones.  Now to get them out of the crater.  Fast.

            "Woah." John breathed, staring at the tip of the Leonid Meteor.

            The last round from the Zeus Cannon had damaged the Leonid Meteor considerably, its surface breaking away like an eggshell.  Then, as he watched, dense masses of thick, giant Phantom tentacles burst out of the Leonid Meteor, swaying about like the making of cotton candy, filling the area where the meteor had previously been.

            "What _is _that thing?" Scott couldn't take his eyes away from the enormous Phantom.

            "Oh, Jupiter," John breathed.  "It's the Phantom Gaia."

            "You're kidding?" Scott stared at the massive red alien tentacles that were slowly flailing about.  That _thing _was a god?  An alien god?  "Oh-kay…"

            But for the first time in his life, Scott suddenly began to believe what John said when he said that everything came from and returned to Gaia.  When he was in John's dream, the alien Gaia was what he had seen flowing within the Leonid Meteor as it was blown from its destroyed home planet and into space.  The Earth had a Gaia, and the Phantom's planet had a Gaia. And right now, Scott was looking at the Phantom Gaia as Phantoms of all shapes and sizes poured from the massive flowing red, separating from it to become the Phantoms that he knew only too well.

            Scott realized that this was why when they killed a Phantom, another took its place.  It was happening right in front of his eyes:  The Zeus Cannon was wiping out the Phantoms, which were only to be replaced by more that came from the alien Gaia.

            Suddenly, one of the thick tentacles, far larger than the diameter of the Quatro, slammed through the machine, dragging it down, tipping the Black Boa momentarily to one side.

            Luckily, the shield had held.

            Still strapped in his seat, John let out a deep breath, knowing that it the shield hadn't held, he and Scott would both be dead.

            But before either of them could do anything else, a second tentacle slammed into them with more force than the first one.

            "U-Unable to maintain altitude!" Brains reported from the Black Boa's cockpit.

            The high-strength cables were still holding, but the Black Boa was being dragged down by the force of the attack.

            Suddenly, there was a loud _snap_ as one of the holders at the end of one of the cables broke free, tipping the Quatro even further.

            "Oh, shit." Scott tried to sound calm as he saw the slack cable fall from above them.

            "Tell me things can't get any worse," John cringed, and as a third tentacle headed towards the Quatro, he added "I stand corrected."

            This time, the remaining three cable supports snapped free of the Black Boa.

Chapter Twenty-Eight 

            John Tracy's blue-grey eyes blinked a few times and he groaned softly as consciousness slowly returned to him.  He sat up in his seat, rubbing the back of his head and tentatively feeling the tender bruise there as he recalled what had just happened.

            The three remaining cables had broken from the winch mechanism of the Black Boa, leaving the Quatro to plummet to the ground.

            John could remember the nauseating spinning and the sudden sensation of apparent weightlessness occur.  His heart was racing uncontrollably and there was only one though that went through his mind:  He and Scott were going to die.

            Scott.

            Alarm shot up John's spine and he turned to see the Captain, his younger brother, just coming round.

            Concerned more about his younger brother's safety, John unclipped his harness and went to the Captain's side.

            "I am going to have a major hangover-like headache if we ever make it out of here alive," Scott put a hand to his head and smiled wryly at John.  "Good thing I fitted your Quatro with high-density pellets or we would've had it."

            That was when John realized _why_ they were still alive.

            High-density pellets were used mainly in emergency procedures or during urgent missions.  When they hit the ground from more than a certain height, the high-density pellets exploded to form a spreading, thick cushion of some substance which John could never quite identify.  After a few seconds, the thick cushion would dissolve rapidly into the air.

            John figured that Scott must have equipped the Quatro with high-density pellets and had activated them as soon as he realized that the Quatro was in a free-fall.

            John looked around them, noting that the spiritual shield was still holding.  At least that was one small miracle.

            The Quatro had landed upright near the giant wall of the Leonid Crater, the smaller Phantoms trying to get to the two brothers who were safely inside the machine.

            The, the Zeus Cannon fired again, knocking John and Scott to the floor.

            When the impact had ceased, Scott helped John to his feet again.

            The Quatro had stayed in its current position for the moment, but the Phantoms had all been wiped out by the blast from the Zeus Cannon.  All except for the Phantom Gaia, which was now towering above them.  Around them, the floor of the Leonid Crater was being shattered, huge cracks and fissures appearing.

            John looked up at the massive Phantom Gaia above him.  From what he could see, the Zeus Cannon was having just about the opposite effect of what it had been built for:  Instead of the Phantom Gaia being destroyed, it seemed to be growing and gaining strength.

            General Belah Gaat stared at the massive Phantom on the screen in the Zeus Cannon Station's main control room.

            The Zeus had wiped out all of the smaller Phantoms some miles around the Leonid Meteor Crater, but it had also exposed this huge one.  And a second and third direct shot hadn't had much of an effect on it.

            "Do you have a reading on what that thing is?" General Gaat turned to Major Conrad Tuner.

            "I don't, Sir." Major Turner shook his head, his eyes almost transfixed by the Phantom Gaia.

            "Well, find out!" General Gaat snapped.  "And fire another shot.  Maybe that will do the trick."

            "Yes, Sir." Major Turner nodded.

            General Gaat turned his attention back to the main screen.

            Thousands of smaller Phantoms were emerging from the larger one, replacing those lost at the hands of the Zeus Cannon.  The Phantoms spread out across the dead lands like angry ants just after their nest had been trodden on.

            This didn't deter the General.

            He wasn't going to stop until every single Phantom had been eradicated.

            "Sir," one of the soldiers looked at him.  "Incoming message, Sir."

            "Who is it?" General Gaat fixed his gleaming black eyes on the soldier.

            "John Tracy, Sir." the soldier replied, unable to hold the General's gaze for long.

            "Put him through." General Gaat ordered, interested in what John had to say.

            The massive screen in the main control room changed from the Leonid Crater to the interior of what looked like a Quatro.  John Tracy appeared on the screen, Captain Scott Tracy standing behind him.

            "General Gaat," John was trying to sound calm despite the slightly pale and battered expression on his face.  "You have to cease fire immediately."

            "Really?" General Gaat sounded mocking and patronizing.  "And why would that be?"

            "What you are looking at in the Leonid Meteor Crater is the living spirit of an alien homeworld.  When their planet was destroyed, part of it landed here.  That was the Leonid Meteor," John explained.  "This isn't an invasion.  It never has been."

            "I se, Mr. Tracy," General Gaat laughed.  "So, what have we been fighting all this time then?  Ghosts?"

            The soldiers and Major Turner all laughed.

            "Precisely." John told the General, never raising his voice although it was visually clear that Scott was beginning to lose his temper ever so quietly.

            At John's confident words, the entire group in the main control room went silent.

            "The Phantoms are nothing more than spirits," John continued.  "They're lost, confused and angry."

            General Gaat stared at John, who clearly believed in everything that he was saying to them.

            "So, these…ghosts, as you refer to them, are coming out of what?  A Gaia-thing like what Sir Jeremy and Mr. Hackenbacker sold the Council on, right?" General Gaat continued to mock.

            "General Gaat," John began.  "You _must_ listen to me-"

            "Alien Gaia.  Earth Gaia," General Gaat shook his head.  "Even if I believed in such rubbish, the fact still remains that the Earth is under attack from an alien aggressor which must be destroyed at all costs."

            "The cost may be the Earth itself, General," John said, his blue-grey eyes hard.  "Firing at the Phantom Gaia only makes it stronger."

            General Gaat just laughed and said "And since you are under the influence of the enemy, I will take your protest to mean that we are, in fact, pursuing the correct course of action."

            John was just about to protest when Scott angrily pushed him out of the comm-screen's view and locked gazes with General Gaat.

            "Influence _this_, General!" Scott grabbed his crotch, and even through the slight static of the communications signal, the gesture was unmistakable.  "My brother is _not _controlled by the Phantoms.  He's telling the truth."

            "And you were one of the last people I expected to see or hear that from, Captain," General Gaat shook his head with fake sadness. "I guess either the Phantoms or your brother must have gotten to you," General Gaat sighed.  "Well then, I suggest that the two of you take your last few minutes of your lives to prepare to meet your Gaia."

            General Gaat cut the connection before any of the two brothers could say anymore.  He turned to Major Turner.  "Continue firing until the enemy has been destroyed," ordered the General.  "And step up the pace.  I want one shot every two minutes from now on."

            "Yes, Sir." Major Turner nodded sharply.

            General Gaat turned back to look at the satellite image of the huge Phantom filling the Leonid Crater.  Nothing would be able to withstand the Zeus Cannon's firepower for long.  And now that he had exposed this creature from its hiding place, he would blast it into nothingness.

Chapter Twenty-Nine 

            "I don't think he believed a word you said." Scott looked at his older brother sympathetically.

            "Yeah," John said, anger in his voice.  "Especially since you decided to take insulting gestures to a higher level."

            Scott didn't say anything and John knew that he wasn't actually mad at his younger brother.  John was angry at the General, and not being able to smash the sly smirk off General Gaat's face just made him feel worse.

            John looked above him and he could see the Phantom Gaia spreading and expanding, more and more smaller Phantoms pouring off its surface.

            "Incoming." Brains warned from the Black Boa, which he had managed to land on the outskirts of the Leonid Crater, just out of reach from the brunt of the Zeus Cannon's fire-power to have much of an effect, but also near enough to keep track of what was going on in the crater.

            Both John and Scott braced themselves for the impact of the Zeus Cannon's attack.

            Everything around them flashed a blinding white and the Quatro slammed into something hard.

            When it was over, John and Scott stood up and made sure that they were still in one piece.

            "Shield is holding." Scott said gratefully.

            "Any ideas?" John asked, turning to face Scott, the anger in his face gone.

            Scott's answer was simple:  "Hang on and hope General Gaat  up there runs out of ammo for that oversized cannon of his."

            "And then what?" questioned John, raising an eyebrow.

            Scott laughed.  "Well, if we're still alive at that point, we can figure something out."

            John smiled and shook his head.  Ever since joining the Air Force when they were younger, Scott was always the one out of al five brothers who would tempt fate and laugh in the face of death.

            "Incoming!" another warning from Brains.

            John and Scott hit the deck and braced themselves just in time to save themselves from any more serious injury.

            When the shaking had stopped, Scott looked at his watch and then back at hit older brother.  "General Gaat's picked up the pace.  Maybe letting him know we were still alive and fighting wasn't such a good idea after all."

            If they weren't in such a life-threatening situation, John would have laughed at the Captain's dry comment.

            John watched from the deck as Scott got up and checked the Quatro's systems.  When the two of them had set off on this mission, John had imagined that if he was going to die, he would die trying to get hold of the eighth and final spirit.  But now, the eighth  spirit had been destroyed and taken back to Gaia.

            And he was still going to die.

            To John, it just didn't feel right.  Or fair.

            "Incoming!" Brains warned.

            This time, the blast from the Zeus Cannon tipped the Quatro, rolling it towards a nearby fissure.

            "You okay?" Scott asked, the first to recover.

            "I've been better." John said, checking a cut that had opened up across his shoulder.  He looked back up at the mass of red Phantom Gaia that was threatening to engulf them as it grew.

            "We are _so _in trouble." John muttered under his breath.

            "You don't know the half of it," Scott snorted.  "I'm guessing that we'll be seeing how deep that fissure is by the next hit from the Zeus Cannon.  Not that we can do anything about it with the amount of Phantoms in the area, so that eradicates any crazy ideas to get out of the Quatro.  And I also have a bad feeling that another shot from the Zeus will knock out our shields too."

            John groaned and closed his eyes at the painful facts.

            And in the next moment, Brains' voice filled their headsets.

            "Incoming!"

            General Gaat scowled at the huge Phantom on the large screen in the main control room.  It was clear that he didn't like what he was viewing.  The massive Phantom was growing in size with every shot fired off by the Zeus Cannon.

            But, on the other hand, maybe it wasn't getting stronger at all.  Maybe the Zeus Cannon was actually smashing the Phantom, because when things got smashed, they usually spread out like the giant Phantom was doing at the moment.

            The General nodded to himself.  That had to be the answer.

            Beside him, Major Turner cleared his throat uneasily.  "General," Major Turner reported.  "The Cannon's systems are overheating."

            "I don't care,"  General Gaat said, never taking his eyes away from the huge Phantom in the crater. "We're going to keep hitting it, again and again, until it's dead."

            "But, Sir, how do we even know if we're even harming the creature?" asked Major Turner.

            "Look at the thing, Major," General Gaat indicated towards the Phantom Gaia on the screen.  "Can't you see that we're smashing it into a pulp?"  General Gaat casually leaned back in his seat.  "This is our moment of victory, Major Turner.  I order you and your men to continue to fire on that creature."

            "I'm sorry, Sir," said Major Turner.  "But the automatic lock-out systems have frozen the controls.  They won't allow us to fire again.  Not until the systems have cooled down."

            "We'll see about that." General Gaat got up from his seat, unbuckling the belt that held him in the chair in the zero gravity of the Zeus Cannon Station.  With not another glance or word at anyone in the room, the General floated out of the main control room, the large doors sliding noiselessly shut behind him.

            Major Turner watched his superior leave before turning back to look at the Phantom Gaia on the main screen, wondering what the General was going to do.

            Scott pushed himself to his feet, feeling bruised and battered all over, aware that the last shot from the Zeus Cannon had knocked the Quatro down the fissure as well as knocking out the power to the spiritual shield.

            Beside him, John slowly got up, bleeding from a cut across his cheek.

            "Oh this is so _not _good." John looked above them at the angry red of the Phantom Gaia, still spewing forth smaller Phantoms.

            "We're sitting ducks in here." Scott looked at the Phantom Gaia, at the Phantoms pouring off it, and grabbed two laser rifles and some spare ovo-packs, before shoving open the hatch of the Quatro.

            John picked up some scanning equipment and another laser rifle.

            "Let's go." Scott helped John out of the Quatro.  He looked up at the Phantom Gaia above them as John moved towards the edge of the rocky ledge the Quatro had landed on.  He had never imagined that anything as large as the Phantom Gaia could possibly be alive.

            Until now.

            "This is not a good place to be." Scott blew out a breath as he headed towards John's side.

            John was on his hands and knees at the edge of the outcropping, looking down at something.  Scott stood beside his brother and followed his gaze, only to see a shimmering blue plasma far below them like a massive river.

            "What the blazes is that?" Scot looked at John, who was looking at the blue below them with an almost dream-like smile on his face.

            "Okay, wait," Scott said, looking back down at the shimmering blue.  "That's not what I think it is, is it?"

            "It is, Scott," John's voice was filled with awe.  "That's Gaia.  Earth's Gaia.  _Our _Gaia."

            Scott looked back up at the Phantom Gaia, looming over them like and angry red canopy, and then at the Earth's peaceful Gaia below them.  The he looked at John and said "This is _definetely _not a good place to be."

            Suddenly, John doubled over, putting a hand to his chest, just over his heart.

            "John.  Are you alright?" Scot put an unsure hand on his older brother's shoulder.  At least General Gaat hadn't fired that cannon of his again, which had both its advantages and disadvantages.  It put them in less danger of injury but was also letting the Phantom population around them increase again.

            "I have to talk to Sir Jeremy and Brains right away." John gasped, forcing himself up.

            "You do that." Scott said, holding up one of his laser rifles and guarding them against any Phantoms that could get too close.

            "Brains.  Sir Jeremy," John spoke into his headset as he walked back to the Quatro.  "Do you read me?"

            "Go ahead, John. We're still here." Sir Jeremy replied from the Black Boa's laboratory.

            "You're not going to believe this, guys, but right now, we're standing on a ledge underneath the Phantom Gaia, and looking at Earth's Gaia." John told the scientists.

            "What?!"

            Scott smiled, amused by the fact that Sir Jeremy was having trouble believing his own theory of Earth's Gaia.

            "It's Gaia," John repeated.  "Right below us.  I think that's why the eighth spirit appeared here."

            "You're right, John!  That must be it!" exclaimed an excited Sir Jeremy.

            "I-I've been running some calculations, John," Brains chipped in from the Black Boa's cockpit.  "From what I can –er- see, a single Phantom particle must have come into c-contact with a new spirit born from that of our own –er- Gaia.  If so, that would have given it a different e-energy signature, thus setting it apart from other Phantoms."

            "You two could not have hoped for a better location for a new, compatible spirit." Sir Jeremy said.

            Scott laughed.  "You think this is great?  You should be down here."

            "Whatever you do, don't move," said Sir Jeremy.  "Stay right where you are whilst I see what I can track."

            Scott looked at the Phantoms that were closing in around them particularly the group in front of him as he slowly backed towards the Quatro.  "Staying right where we are may not be as easy as it sounds, Sir Jeremy."

            Scott waited until one of the Phantoms got too close for his liking before he opened fire, vapourizing it.

            "Don't shoot any of them!" shouted Sir Jeremy.  "You could very well destroy our last hope."

            "The what do you suggest I do?" Scott asked a little impatiently as he kept an eye on the approaching Phantoms.  "Ask them to play nice?"

            "Combat strategy is your area of expertise, Captain.  Not mine," Sir Jeremy replied, getting slightly fed-up with the Captain's attitude. "Just don't shoot any of them unless you're sure you absolutely have to."

            "Sir Jeremy!" John called from inside the Quatro where he sat scanning the area.  "I have a reading here in the fissure.  Can you track it?"

            "Yes, dear boy!  And it's one hundred percent compatible," replied Sir Jeremy, excitement in his voice.  "It must be very near you."

            "Well?" Scott asked, still backing slowly towards the Quatro as the Phantoms closed in.  "Which one is it?"

            At the Quatro's scanners, Jon tried to shake the light-headed feeling away, unaware of a Phantom drawing dangerously close to him.

            "Oh boy. It's getting crowded down here." Scott muttered to himself, knowing that he'd have to act fast to keep the Phantoms at bay.

            Suddenly, there was another shot of laser fire and Scott turned, tracking its source.

            "John!"

            John was slumped in the hatchway of the Quatro, the remains of a Phantom just vapourizing in front of him.

            He looked almost dead.

            'Oh God…' Scott felt the panic churning in his stomach.

            "John!" he called.

            No response.

            "John!!"

            Nothing.

            He couldn't be dead.  Maybe he had just passed out like he did back in the Wastelands.

            Scott turned back to the approaching Phantoms.

            He had no choice but to act now.  It was either going to be him or them.  And with John lying possibly dead, the situation didn't look like it was going to get any better.

            Scott picked his shots carefully, firing at the closest Phantoms, wondering if this was going to be the end.

Chapter Thirty 

            _The dream was back again._

_            But now it had changed._

_            Now it was different._

Very _different._

_            John Tracy was expecting to see the two alien armies fighting and tearing each other apart like savage beasts._

_            But they were gone._

_            Only dead, grey landscape and the empty husks of the Phantom armies' armour remained._

_            John couldn't quite figure out why the dream had changed._

_            Or what it meant._

_            Then, in front of his stood a Phantom spirit._

_            This was the one that had attacked him and touched him before he had shot it back in the Quatro._

_            Their gazes locked and held for a split-second before the Phantom spirit pierced him with its long, tentacle-like fingers, forcing him to the ground as the tentacles passed through his body._

_            He was expecting to die when the strangest thing happened:_

_            The Phantom spirit disappeared and the anti-spirit wave, which now appeared complete, burst out of his chest._

_            Confused, John watched the lights of the anti-spirit wave swirl in the air in front of him for a few moments, almost resembling the Phantom that had struck him, before they burrowed themselves into the dead ground and disappeared.  And where they had vanished, grass and flowers began to grow on the dead lands, spreading far and wide around John, bringing back the beauty of life for as far as he could see…_

            John awoke to find that he was lying in the open hatchway of the Quatro, his rifle just inches away from his hand.

            A few feet away from him was his younger brother, Captain Scott Tracy, firing his own laser rifle at the group of Phantoms, keeping them at bay.  A few empty ovo-packs lay discarded on the ground near him, as well as his other rifle, leaving John to believe that they were down to their last two ovo-packs, inclusive of the one still in his own rifle.

            John opened the top of his shirt and activated the holo-image of the Phantom particles in his chest.  He was only half surprised to see that the membrane was still intact but the Phantom particles had vanished.  In its place was a completed spirit wave and his chest-plate glowed with a similar colour to the Earth's Gaia.

            "I have it!" John's voice was an elated whisper as he realized that the Phantom that had struck him had been the eighth spirit.

            "Whaddaya mean you can't find the eighth spirit?!" Scott was too busy yelling at Sir Jeremy and Brains to notice John, who picked up his fallen headset and put it back on.

            "Uhm, Captain?" John spoke into his headset as he pushed himself to his feet.

            "Not now, John.  I'm busy." Scott turned around at John for a split-second and then at the Phantoms before doing a double-take back at John.

            "John!  Are you alright?"

            "I am now," John replied with a relieved-looking smile.  "I need a hand over here."

            Scott backed warily towards his brother, never lowering his aim from the closest of the Phantoms.

            John was already at one of the consoles inside the Quatro.  He spoke into the headset again.  "Sir Jeremy?  Brains? Are you two still there?  The anti-wave is complete.  I saw it in the dream.  The eighth spirit was a Phantom that attacked my just now," John rigged a wire from his chest-plate into the Quatro's systems, downloading the information he had and sending it all to Sir Jeremy and Brains.  "Data coming in, you guys. It was the spirit which found me."

            "My word," Sir Jeremy said, clearly reading the data that John had sent to him.  "How logical."

            "I-Indeed." Brains added.

            Scott fired at a few more Phantoms before getting into the Quatro and looking impatiently at John.  "Well _I _still don't get it.  What the blazes is going on?"

            John ignored the Captain for a moment as he fiddled with some of the equipment on the control panels.

            "Brains and Sir Jeremy's theory was right," John said after a short pause of silence.  "I'm completely cured, Scott.  I have the eight spirit waves."

            "Are you sure?" frowned Scott, watching as John connected another wire from his chest-plate into the spiritual shielding systems.

            "I'm positive." John said.

            "How can you know that?" asked Scott, clearly puzzled by the whole sudden turn of events.

            John looked at Scott with a smile and simply said "A dream told me."

            "Oh, well that's just _great_." Scott remarked sarcastically before he turned to fire at a few more Phantoms closing in on the Quatro.  The, his laser rifle clicked on empty.  Spotting John's rifle just outside the Quatro's hatch, Scott made a grab for it, shutting the hatch almost before John knew what was going on.

            "Got any spare ovo-packs?" John asked his younger brother, removing the spent ovo-energy pack from the Quatro's shielding mechanism.

            Scott shook his head in reply, holding up John's laser rifle.  "This is the last one we've got."

            "Give it here." John held out his hand.

            "But we'll be defenseless!" Scott protested, his light-blue eyes wide as he looked at John.

            "Just hand it over, Scott." John gave his younger brother the same icy look as he had always given him since they were kids.  John's famous 'hand it over or you're dead meat' look eventually persuaded Scott to reluctantly give him the last ovo-pack.

            "Thank you, Scott." John said in a calm, casual tone of voice as he slapped the ovo-pack into the Quatro's shielding mechanism, hoping that the modified spiritual shield would activate quickly.

            "I hope you know what you're doing." Scott looked unhappily at John and then at their last ovo-pack held n the spiritual shield mechanism.

            "I do," John replied, glancing at the approaching Phantoms and then back at Scott.  "We have to project the completed wave from me into the Phantom Gaia."

            John saw his younger brother eyeing the ovo-pack in the shielding mechanism and knew exactly what he was thinking.  "Don't even think about it, Scotty."

            Scott pouted and looked back out at the approaching Phantoms, every nerve in his military-trained body screaming at him to take care of the approaching Phantoms before it was too late.  His older brother followed his gaze and Scott made a lightning-quick grab for the ovo-pack, ready to slam it back into their last laser rifle, when John's hand suddenly clamped firmly around his wrist, stopping him.

            "_Leave it_, Scott," John's voice was hard. "Don't make me have to do something drastic like knock you out just because you can't leave one stupid ovo-pack alone."

            Scott held John's gaze for a moment longer before he looked away, sighing unhappily.

            "Look, just trust me on this one, will you?" John's voice toned down.  "Please?"

            Then, as the first of he Phantoms were about to enter the Quatro, the modified spiritual shield kicked in, protecting both John and Scott.

            Something else was also happening:  As soon as the Phantoms touched the spiritual shield, the golden colour of it now mingled with a faint blue of the traces from the anti-wave from within John, they disappeared, returning to the Phantom Gaia where the anti-wave began to slowly but surely purify it.

            From the safety of the shielded Quatro, the to brothers watched as the Phantom Gaia was slowly converted from an angry red to a tranquil, sparkling light blue, almost the same colour as the Earth's Gaia.

            John smiled in the silence that followed, knowing that it would now only be a matter of time before the Phantom Gaia would finally be at rest from al the suffering and destruction that it had witnessed on it's home planet.

            His happiness, however, was short-lived as Brains called out another warning, shattering his hopes.

            "Incoming!"

            John and Scott exchanged a quick, unreadable look.

            "No…" John whispered.

            Then, Scott yanked his brother down, covering him and shielding him with his own body as the world around them flashed a blinding white and fell apart.

            General Belah Gaat activated the manual firing system on the Zeus Cannon from within the bowels of the space station, keying in his security  code and controlling the whole of the next firing sequence manually and by himself.

            "Warning!  System overload!" a pre-recorded, computer warning repeated tonelessly all around him.

            "I don't care!" General Gaat shouted in reply, although he knew that shouting back to a computer was more or less pointless.

            "Warning!  System overload!"

            "I know!" General Gaat shouted angrily, before firing the cannon manually, still targeting it at the Leonid Crater.

            "Warning!  Warning!  Warning!"

            "It must be done." General Gaat clenched his jaw and fired again into the crater, at the Phantom Gaia.

            Suddenly, the entire system shut down.

            "Fire!" growled the General, activating the firing lever again.  "Fire, damnit!"

            The whole Zeus Cannon Station around him began to shake and shudder as the ovo-packs started to react and explode from overheating but he didn't seem to notice this as he kept his thoughts focused on getting the Zeus Cannon to fire.

            "Fire, curse you!" General Gaat slammed his fist down on the control panels, unaware as a huge mass of debris from part of the crumbling station fell through space towards him.

            By the time he had turned and realized what was happening, it was already too late.

            A few seconds later and the entire Zeus Cannon Station exploded in a horizontal blast radius of colours and debris, leaving the angry Phantom Gaia to surge and expand over the rest of the Leonid Crater.

**Chapter Thirty-One**

            The force of the last shot from the Zeus Cannon had ripped the entire Quatro apart.

            John Tracy slowly came round and found himself lying face-up and surrounded by masses of broken and twisted metal.  He groaned as he sat up, holding his pounding head.

            Everything hurt.

            He was bleeding from a nasty gash across his forehead and a deep but at the small of his back, and had suffered a dozen other cuts, grazes and bruises.

            But at least he was still alive.

            John looked up at the Phantom Gaia, its huge mass red and pulsating angrily over him.  It was clear that the anti-wave they had started to create had been stopped by the firing of the Zeus Cannon.  But John still had the brilliant blue glow of the combined spirit waves radiating from his chest-plate beneath his torn shirt.  And there was still a chance of getting the anti-wave into the Phantom Gaia.  A very slim chance but a chance nevertheless.

            The smaller Phantoms had been wiped out by the Zeus Cannon for now.  John was sure that they would be back soon enough.  And the Phantom Gaia was still expanding and now descending towards them.

            Them.

            "Scott?" John called, looking around.  "Scott!"

            Then, John saw his younger brother's arm sticking out from under some heavy sheets of metal from the destroyed Quatro.

            Panic shot up John's spine and he hastily shoved away the heavy sheets of debris from where they had pinned Scott down, almost crushing him, and when John went to flank his younger brother, he could tell that Scott was hurt badly.

            Captain Scott Tracy could barely stand on his own.  Like John, he was bleeding from minor cuts and scrapes, but there was also a deep laceration that had torn the muscles of his right thigh open and there was blood dripping from his mouth.  John figured that his brother had internal injuries.  All in all, things didn't look too good.

            The two brothers didn't manage to get far from the remains of the Quatro before Scott's injured leg could no longer take his weight and he went down, pulling John with him.  The two of them sat on the dusty, rocky ledge, Scott leaning against a large boulder, both of them staring up at the descending Phantom Gaia as it closed in on them.

            "I told Sir Jeremy and Brains that this would be a one-way trip," Scott smiled weakly, his voice a pained whisper.  "Looks like I was right."

            "Don't say that, Scott," John said in a gentle voice, although part of him was beginning to believe his younger brother's words.  "Save your strength."

            "We're not going to make it." Scot whispered, looking up again at the Phantom Gaia, and John could see that Scott's breathing had become slightly shallower.

            "We're going to make it." John told his brother, his voice strong and his blue-grey eyes burning with old determination.

            Scott looked wearily back at John and said honestly "We both know that isn't true."

            John held his younger brother tight, pulling away when the wounded Captain flinched and gasped in pain.  He looked around for any sign of a communications headset but couldn't see either of them in all the broken, twisted metal of the Quatro.  He had to get through to Sir Jeremy and Brains, but he knew very well that even if he did manage to get a link with the two scientists in the Black Boa, there was no way they could get his ship down to them through the Phantom Gaia.

            "Well," Scott broke the silence.  "This certainly feels like a fine time to leave.  I'm gonna miss you, Johnny."

            "Scott.  Don't leave me, Scotty," John's voice was almost a desperate plea.  "Just hang on.  Please!  I still need you."

            "John," Scott closed his eyes.  "Don't."

            "No, Scott.  Listen to me," John gripped the Captain's arm.  "I've still got the anti-wave inside of me.  I still need you."

            Scott's light-blue eyes opened again and hi blinked a few times, trying to clear the haze across his vision.

            "All I need to do is reach up and touch the Phantom Gaia and the wave will transfer." John told Scott, very aware of the pain that he was in.  Scott needed medical attention and fast.  But in order to get his younger brother some help, they had to get rid of the Phantom Gaia that was closing in above them.

            Scott looked at the approaching red mass of the Phantom Gaia, then at the edge of the rocky ledge a few feet away from them, and finally back at John.  Then he said "Help me stand, John."

            "Scott," John's blue-grey eyes were full of concern.  "I don't think you should-"

            "Help me," Scott's voice suddenly had the firmness and command back in it, surprising John, but it quickly disappeared again.  "We need to make it to the ledge."

            John reluctantly helped him up, flanking him on his right.  It was only when they got there that John began to realize what Scott probably had in mind.  "Scott, _please_!  Don't do this."

            "Listen to me, John," Scott let John help him to the ground as the wound to his leg got the better of him again.  "You've saved my life more than once.  Now I want you to save yourself.  And this world."

            John looked below them to see the peaceful blue of the Earth's Gaia, and then back at the angry swirling mass of the Phantom Gaia descending closer and closer with every passing moment.

            "Jump done on that ledge and hold onto me." Scott indicated at a small outcropping a few feet below where they were.  It was only big enough for one of them to stand on, and Scott had already made up his mind.

            "Scot, no!" John protested.  He couldn't lose his younger brother.  Not after al they had been through.  Not after everyone on the Island had been killed.  Not after losing Tin-Tin, Gordon and Virgil.  He couldn't let Scott go.  He couldn't let him die.

            "Let me do this, John," Scott's face was filled with both pain and brotherly love.  "You have to trust me on this one."

            He notioned for John to jump down onto the small outcropping below them before turning away and coughing up blood.  No matter what John said, he knew he was going to die.  But he refused to take his older brother with him.

            Scott watched as John did as he was told, climbing down to the small ledge below him before reaching up to grab his hand as he offered it to his older brother.

            "Don't leave me, Scott!" John's voice was pleading now.

            "You've been trying to tell me that death isn't the end, John.  Don't back out on me…" Scott paused to take a deep breath, trying to ignore some of the burning pain in his body.  Then he looked at John and smiled as best as he could.  "…Now that I finally believe."

            Scott turned around to see the huge mass of the Phantom Gaia heading towards him.. Clearing his mind of everything, he faced the oncoming mass that swooped down over him and stretched his free arm towards it.

            Scott let out a half-choked gasp as the Phantom Gaia went through his arm, its power surging through him, seeking out his spirit.

            "Scott…"

            Scott turned to look at John upon hearing his name.  There were tears in his older brother's blue-grey eyes and the look of hurt was unmistakable.  John had wanted him to stay, but Scott knew that it just wasn't to end that way.

            Not for him.

            Even though part of him didn't want to leave John behind, Scott knew that he was doing the right thing.

            Scott's light-blue eyes locked with John's blue-grey gaze and he smiled.  "I'll check up on you from time to time, bro."

            "Don't leave me, Scott." John whispered, the tears choking his voice.

            "I'm sorry, John…"

            And for one of the first times in his life, he actually meant it.

            Then, the anti-wave was pulled out of John's body and through Scott's spirit, flowing into the Phantom Gaia.

            Scott watched it go, even as his own spirit became separated from his body.  And then he was being carried away from the world he hoped he had just helped to save.

            And from the brother he had almost always looked up to for most of his life.

            John Tracy was the last thing that he remembered seeing as his spirit dissolved away, heading for another place.

            Perhaps a better place.

            John Tracy stood on the small outcropping, holding onto his younger brother's hand.

            Part of him knew that what Scott was doing was right.  Not just for the two of them, but for the rest of humanity too.  Yet, he didn't want it to end like this.  Not for Scott.  There had to be another way.

            But before John could even think about doing or saying anything else, the Phantom Gaia was already flowing through Scott's other outstretched hand, filling the Captain with a glow of sparkling blue as his spirit began to separate from his body.

            "Scott…" John called, his voice almost choked with the tears that fell from his eyes.

            Scott turned to look at him and John could see the sparkle fading from his younger brother's light-blue eyes as he struggled to stay with it just a bit longer.  

"I'll check up on you from time to time, bro." Scott forced a smile.

"Don't leave me, Scott." John repeated in a tearful whisper.

            "I'm sorry, John…"

            There was meaning in Scott's words this time, but John could form no words of his own as the completed anti-wave – consisting of a mixture of eight very special spirits, including his own – was transferred from him and into the Phantom Gaia through Scott's own spirit.

            Then, right before John's eyes, Scott's spirit separated completely from his body.

            John clung desperately onto his spirit-brother's hand as the Phantom Gaia pulled Scott's spirit away, his battered and wounded body hitting the dusty ground.  To John, it was as if Scott's spirit was made of air and before he knew it, his younger brother was gone.

            Suddenly, there was a brilliant flash of light as the completed spirit wave swirled through the angry red of the Phantom Gaia, converting it to a beautiful blue-green colour.  The new colour spread through the Phantom Gaia and the huge mass began to rise higher and higher into the air as the anger within it was changed to love, understanding and peace.

            John watched as the Phantom Gaia changed into a vertical column of peaceful, sparkling blue-green colours and swirled up towards the heavens.

            The Phantom Gaia was leaving.

            It had finally managed to attain the peace it never had on its home planet.

            John watched in silence for a while before he climbed back up onto the main ledge and crouched beside his younger brother's still body, checking for a pulse, even though he knew he wasn't going to find one.

            He looked back down at the wonderful blue of Earth's Gaia below him and managed a sad smile, knowing that Gordon, Tin-Tin, Virgil and his other friends and family members would be there.

            And Scott would now probably be there too.

            Captain Scott Tracy had used his body to transfer the eight spirits of the anti-wave from John to the Phantom Gaia.  He had given his life not only just to save John, but to save the planet.

            John would make sure that Scott, as well as Gordon, Virgil and Tin-Tin, were not forgotten.

**Chapter Thirty-Two**

            Sir Jeremy Hodge and Brains both hurried out of the Black Boa as soon as they saw the red of the Phantom Gaia convert to a tranquil blue and rise up as a column of light.  The two scientists watched in awe as the leaving Phantom Gaia illuminated the pre-dawn sky like a giant, swirling torch.

            "They did it…" whispered Sir Jeremy.

            "Y-Yes," nodded Brains.  "We have a lot to thank them for.  But let's –er- hope that they're a-alright.  The last shot of the Zeus Cannon knocked out their –er- communications link with us."

            Around them, small balls of light – no bigger in diameter than about four centimetres – began to rise from the ground, heading in the same direction as the Phantom Gaia.

            Heaven.

            "Gaia Angels," Sir Jeremy smiled at Brains.  "So they _do_ exist."

            "A-Absolutely phenomenal." Brains smiled back, watching as one passed harmlessly through his colleague and friend.

            "It's warm," Sir Jeremy commented, his British voice sounding gentle as he watched the Gaia Angel – a ball of spirit, possibly a human spirit – rise up into the dim skies.  "They are finally at rest."

            The two scientists stood in silence, watching both the Phantom Gaia and the Gaia Angels of the Earth until there was no longer a particle of the enticing and awe-inspiring colours of either to see.

            It was almost as if he was back in the dream once again.

            But John knew that he was wide awake.

            He sat on the rising lift of the Black Boa, the ship now airborne and hovering over the Leonid Meteor Crater so that Brains and Sir Jeremy could retrieve him.

            John looked out at the landscape as the sun broke over the mountaintops, looking very much like the beginning of his dreams.  Except now, it wasn't scared and broken lands he saw.  Everywhere he looked, life was returning.

            He smiled and held Scott's lifeless body closer to him.  John was also going to later retrieve the bodies of Virgil, Tin-Tin and Gordon so that he could give the full Deep Eyes Squadron a hero's burial.

            A familiar cry echoed all around, startling John.

            He traced the sound to a bird – a hawk – gliding across the sky, and for some strange reason, John had a feeling that it was the same hawk that Scott had been curiously watching back in the Wastelands.  And after a look at Scott's body and then back at the hawk, John noticed that it appeared as if Scott, although now dead, was still looking at the hawk in the sky.

            Coincidence?

            John wasn't sure what to think.

            And after what he had witnessed in the earlier hours of the day, he would never underestimate anything in life again.

            The hawk cried again, circling around the slow-rising lift of the Black Boa, and John could have sworn that he'd seen a hint of light-blue in it's eyes.

            Just like the same blue of Scott's eyes.

            John smiled again as he watched the hawk fly out over the landscape and out of sight, recalling the look of fascination, and perhaps hidden knowledge on Scott's face as he watched the hawk fly away from the Wastelands.

            Sometimes, secrets were best kept hidden.

**Epilogue: - Twelve Years Later**

            "Dad?"

            The nine year old boy with mid-brown hair and blue-grey eyes looked up at his father.  "Dad, why are we here?"

            John Tracy turned away from the memorial statue of the Philadelphia Barrier Deep Eyes Squadron, each member in full armour apart from the helmets, and looked at his son.

            "We're here because it's been twelve years today since humankind was able to live in the knowledge that the Phantoms had left." John explained.

            "That's a happy thing, isn't it, dad?" asked his son.

            "Yes, it is."

            "Then why do you look so sad?"

            John sighed and put a hand on his son's shoulder, pulling him close.  "I'm sad because these four people gave their lives in order for us to live the way we do today.  In freedom.  Those two," John indicated to Gordon and Virgil's statues.  "That's your Uncle Gordon and Uncle Virgil. They're my brothers.  And that lady," John pointed at Tin-Tin.  "She was a very close friend, almost a member of the family.  The three of them died in order for us to escape from the Philadelphia Barrier when it was attacked by Phantoms."

            "I remember now!  You showed me those family photos," said his son.  "And he's your brother too, right?" he pointed at the statue of Captain Scott Tracy weilding a laser rifle in his hands.

            "Yes.  That's my younger brother," nodded John. "He gave his life to save humankind.  He was the one who led the Deep Eyes Squadron.  A real brave guy.  Saved my life a few times too."

            "Everyone told me it was you, Sir Jeremy Hodge and Mr. Hackenbacker who saved the planet." his son looked up at him with curious blue-grey eyes.

            "Yes, but without the help of the Deep Eyes team, we would never have made it out of the Philadelphia Barrier," John looked from his son to the statue of his younger brother, Scott.  "And without Captain Scott Tracy's help, I probably wouldn't be standing here now."

            "Dad?" his son tugged on the sleeve of his warm jacket.  "Why didn't you ever tell me most of what happened when the Phantoms went away?"

            "Well, I was actually going to wait until you were a little older before I told you the whole of what happened all those years back," John said.  "Besides, it's a long story."

            "We've got time."

            John laughed at his son's words.  They were the exact same words that Scott had said to John when he had met the Deep Eyes Squadron on their way back from Pittsburgh.

            "Maybe another day…" John's gaze lingered on all four members of the Deep Eyes Squadron, wondering where each of them were now.

            After a few more minutes of silence, his son spoke again. "Don't wanna rush you, Dad, but we're kinda running short on time."

            "Yeah.  Okay, Scott," John patted his son's shoulder.  "'Coz I promised to take you to see that new movie.  'Final Fantasy', right?"

            "Right," John's son, named after the brother who had given everyone back the gift of life, smiled up at his father.  "And you promised we wouldn't be late."

            "Yeah.  And promises have to be kept." John smiled at his son before turning to put some flowers in front of the memorial statue, brushing some of the winter snow away from the engraved plaque.

'In loving memory of the four who died to save humanity.

Corporal Tin-Tin Kyrano. Sergeant Virgil Tracy. Captain Scott Tracy. Corporal Gordon Tracy.

17th December 2065.

The world will forever be in your debts.'

            "Okay, Scott," John ruffled his son's hair.  "Let's go."

            "Hey!" protested his son.  "Quit mussing my hair!"

            John laughed and they were just turning to leave when a beautiful hawk swooped down and landed gracefully on the armoured shoulder of the statue of Captain Scott Tracy.

            "Wow!  It's really cool, isn't it, Dad?" Scott looked up at the hawk.  "And it's got _really _blue eyes!"

            John turned around to look at the hawk on hearing his son's words.

            Curiously, John stretched out his hand to it, expecting the hawk to fly off before he even got to it.  But to his surprise, it stayed where it was and allowed him to touch its powerful outstretched wings.

            John looked into its eyes, at the light-blue colour he'd never seen in a bird of prey before, and he saw a faint sparkle deep in it's eyes that made John smile with a look of hidden knowledge.

            "Look after them for me." John whispered, gently smoothening the hawk's feathered head before turning to his son.  "Come on, Scott.  Time to go."

            "'Kay, Dad."

            "No, that's 'okay', Scott," John corrected.  "Who taught you to speak like that?"

            "You did."

            "Oh."

            The hawk watched them as they left, still perched on the statue of Captain Scott Tracy, it's shrill cry echoing far and wide, a reminder that life had truly returned.

_'__All life is born of Gaia, and each life has a spirit._

_Each new spirit is housed in a physical body._

_Through their experiences on Earth, each spirit matures and grows._

_When the physical body dies, the mature spirit, enriched by its life on Earth, returns to Gaia, bringing with it the experiences, enabling Gaia to live and grow…'_

**THE END.**


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